Bro. Freddie
4 Pointer
Missionary Baptist Minister
Posts: 184
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Post by Bro. Freddie on Mar 23, 2008 5:45:54 GMT -5
I realize that this is not a traditional Easter sermon, but it is where we are at in our studies of Matthew, and I believe the Lord has a reason for this. So with this in mind, here is the next in my series of sermons in Matthew.
Matthew 3:7-12 (King James Version)
7. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8. Bring forth therefore fruit meet for repentance. 9. And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. 10. And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees; therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 11. I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance; but He that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire. 12. Whose fan is in His hand, and He will throughly purge His floor, and gather His wheat into the garner; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.
Last time we looked at the ministry of John the Baptist, his outward appearance, his food and other things. We saw how his was a simple message, but one that the people needed to hear. Today, we will look at John's message to the religious leaders of the day, and how it affects us in this present time.
In verse 7 we meet the Pharisees and Sadducees for the first time. These people are mentioned throughout the Gospels, so now would be a good time to learn about them. These two groups at one time were virtually identical, but during the period between the Old Testament and New Testament (about 400 years) split to become two separate groups. The Pharisees came from the scribes and the Sadducees came from the priests. One of the main features of the Pharisees was their legal tendencies, while the Sadducees was their social position. In other words, the Pharisees looked for loopholes in the Law for their advantage, and the Sadducees was more worried about their political and social standings then in the spiritual condition of the people. The Pharisees believed in the resurrection, angels and the predestination of man while the Sadducees did not. The Sadducees believed that there was no afterlife and that man had free will. Both of these parties observed strict adherence to the Law, but overlooked the spirit of the Law. So, these are the types of men our Lord had to deal with while here on Earth. Getting back to verse 7 we see that the Pharisees and Sadducees came to where John was baptizing and desired to be baptized of him. Why do you think this was? Could it have been for political reasons or social standing? But notice what John said. John flat out asked them who had warned them of the coming judgment. And he called them a bunch of snakes on top of that! Now remember, the characteristics of a snake is to lie in wait, poison their prey, and then consume them. Kind of fits these men don't you think? But John asked them who had told them to repent. Who had told them that they were guilty of their sins? They could not answer him! They were only looking to be baptized because they thought it might give the an advantage over something or someone. They missed the whole picture of baptism which is a person has repented of their sins and is now walking in a newness of life.
In verse 8 we see the ONLY way that John would baptize someone. They had to prove that they had repented of their sins by the fruit that they bore. The word "meet" has the meaning of being of "weight, value, worth", also '' befitting, becoming, right on the grounds of fitness". In other words, John said that they were to bring forth fruit that showed that they had repented. But what fruit was this? And how were they to "bring it forth" or show it? Brethren, I believe it is the same fruit that we are to show in our lives today. It wasn't some miraculous fruit, but fruit that showed others that the Spirit lived in them and in us today. These fruits are love, grace, mercy, peace and so forth. John wanted to see these fruits in the life of those that had professed repentance before he would baptize them. I don't know how it was immediately after you were saved, but from my own personal experience, I tried to bear these fruits the day after I repented of my sins. I was real young, around 7 or 8, and the day after I was saved, I tried to tell others about Jesus and what He had done for me. It was not that I thought that I had a job to preform, but that I wanted others to know the peace and joy I had in my life. I'm not bragging, but I tried to show these fruits. And I didn't know I was supposed to! This was what John was talking about! He wanted them to show love toward others, mercy to others, and other things that mark the life of someone who has had their life changed by the Lord. And as a side note, I believe that we should be the same way today. Too many times when someone professes Jesus as their Saviour, we look for the first available water when we should be looking for the fruit of salvation.
In verse 9 John begins to refute the arguments he knows that the Pharisees and Sadducees are going to use. John knew that they were going to think that they didn't need to repent because of who they were. To understand this, we need to understand the Jewish mindset. The Jews take great pride in being descended from Abraham. And the mindset during this time, and today as a matter of fact, is that because they are descendants of Abraham that God won't send them to hell. Folks, God doesn't send anyone to hell! It is through their own free choice that a person goes to hell because of their refusal to accept Jesus as their Saviour. Another thing that the Pharisees and Sadducees refused to see was that God doesn't have any grandchildren, only children. They refused to recognize that every person has to have a personal relationship with God. I don't care if your daddy was a preacher for 50 years, unless you have a personal relationship with Jesus as your Saviour, you will spend eternity in hell. The same goes for those who think they are good enough, those who think money will get them to heaven, and so forth. UNLESS YOU HAVE A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS AS YOUR SAVIOUR YOU WILL SPEND ETERNITY IN HELL!
In verse 10 we see John using an example of everyday living to drive home his point. This example is one of cutting down a tree. While this could be a prophecy concerning Israel, I believe it is more of an example concerning every person. Let me try and explain. Picture every person as a tree, God as the one who is welding the axe, the fruit as the signs of repentance, and the fire as the lake of fire and brimstone. Every tree (person) who does not bring forth good fruit (the fruit of repentance) is cut down an thrown into the fire (lake of fire). So in essence what John is saying is that if you don't show the effects of salvation, meaning love, grace and so forth, then it won't do any good to baptize you, because you are not saved, and you are going to spend eternity in the lake of fire and brimstone. Folks, it is my firm belief that a person who is saved will show the fruits of salvation in their daily walk of life. One thing more, this verse is NOT talking about a person losing their salvation. If we keep it in context, which was that the Pharisees and Sadducees wanted to be baptized but John wanted to see proof of salvation, there is NO way a person can teach that this verse teaches a person can lose their salvation.
Looking now at verse 11, we notice that John makes a statement that is puzzling to some, but when you break it down, it's not that hard to understand. In the first part of this verse, John tells us he baptized with water unto (with regard to) repentance. When the people repented John would baptize them, but he knew that it was only to show what baptism really is, an act of faith. In the next part of this verse though, we see that John knew that Jesus was mightier than he was, and that he was not even worthy to carry Jesus' sandals. John knew his place. He knew that even though he had a special mission, he was still not as important as the One who followed him. Folks, sometimes we lose sight of the fact that it is not about us, but all about Jesus. We get wrapped up in our own little lives and lose sight of the big picture which is Jesus. John didn't lose sight of the fact that he was only the messenger, not the Message. Notice also that John said he baptized with water, but the ONE who followed him would baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. Now, this may open up a can of worms, but I believe the Bible teaches this, and I have a duty to preach the entire Word, not just part of it, even though it might make some on here mad. First, we need to define what a church is. A church is a local, visible assembly of scripturally baptized believers in a covenant relationship to carry out the Great Commission. There is more, but that will suffice for now. I believe that the church was established during Jesus' personal ministry while here on Earth, specifically on the shores of Galilee. The church was NOT established on the Day of Pentecost. That being said, I believe part of John's job was to get ready the people who would make up the first church. On the Day of Pentecost, the church was empowered with the Holy Spirit, or baptized if you will, and that was manifested in tongues of flame (fire). I believe John was speaking of this when he spoke these words.
To better understand verse 12 we need to learn a little about the agricultural practices of that time. After a farmer cut the wheat, he would gather it to the threshing floor, usually a large flat rock or hard trampled ground. He would then use a flail (a long flexible stick) to thresh the wheat. This would separate the wheat from the straw or chaff. After threshing, he would use a winnowing fan (which looks sort of like a wooden pitchfork but with closer tines) to throw the wheat and straw mixture up into the air. A slight breeze would blow the straw and chaff away and allow the heavier wheat to fall back down to the threshing floor. This was repeated until all the straw and chaff were removed and just the wheat remained. The wheat would then be gathered for food, and the straw would be used to feed the animals. The chaff (broken straw and husks) would be used to fuel the fires. Now, keeping all this in mind, let's look at verse 12. John is saying that the Lord has the winnowing fan in His hand. He is getting ready to separate the wheat from the chaff. He will purge, or make ready, His threshing floor. He will gather the wheat into His garner (storage house or barn) and then burn the chaff with a fire that can not be put out. Folks, this is a prophecy that I believe isn't too far off from being fulfilled. The Lord is coming back and He will separate His children (wheat) from those that are not His children (chaff). He will gather His children into heaven (the garner) and then place those who are not His into the lake of fire and brimstone (the unquenchable fire). Are you in the wheat category? Or are you considered chaff?
The gist of John's message is this. It don't matter who you are, or who your ancestors were. Unless you have repented of your sins, you are lost and headed to hell. Baptism won't save you. Only faith in the Lord Jesus Christ will. And time is running out. Soon, the King of Kings will separate the saved from the lost. The saved will spend eternity with Him, and the lost will spend eternity in torment. Have you repented of your sins? Where will you spend eternity?
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Bro. Freddie
4 Pointer
Missionary Baptist Minister
Posts: 184
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Post by Bro. Freddie on Mar 26, 2008 3:25:10 GMT -5
Matthew 3:13-17 (King James Version)
13. Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. 14. But John forbade Him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? 15. And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now; for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness.Then he suffered Him. 16. And Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straightway out of the water; and, lo, the heavens were opened unto Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon Him. 17. And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
We have been looking the last few weeks at the ministry of John the Baptist. We have seen his personal attire, his diet, his manner of living, but most importantly, we have seen his message, which was very simple and direct. We have also seen that John's job was to be the herald, or forerunner, of the King, which is Jesus. Today, we will look at another reason John was placed upon this Earth at this time.
If you will remember, when we left John, he was baptizing on the river Jordan. While we are not exactly sure, tradition says that this place was called Bethabara (meaning house of crossing). Some have also called it "Bethany beyond the Jordan". Now, I don't hold much store with tradition. Tradition and a quarter might get you a cup of coffee, if you can find it that cheap. While we are not exactly sure where John was at on the Jordan, we are reasonably sure it was just north of the Dead Sea, which would place it about 18 miles or so from Jerusalem.
In verse 13 we see that Jesus came from Galilee to John to be baptized by him. Now, Nazareth was in the province of Galilee, about 20 miles from the southern shore of the Sea of Galilee. As the crow flies, Nazareth was about 65 miles or so from where tradition says John was baptizing. But, Jesus' journey was further than that. He had to go around the wilderness, possibly along the Jordan river. If I had to guess, I'd say His journey was closer to 80 miles than 65 just because of the route He had to take. We are not sure how long it took Jesus to travel from Nazareth to where John was. There are several factors that have to be factored in to travel in those days. Bandits were very bad so people traveled in groups for protection. And a group could only travel as fast as it's slowest member. Did Jesus travel with a group at this time? We don't know. Food was also a factor. Most people carried just a 2 days ration of food, so a person traveling had to figure where they would stay and get more provisions. Greetings were also a long drawn out affair, so when you met someone on the road, you had to stop and visit a while. These are just a few of the factors involved in traveling at that time. So, while we don't know how long it took Jesus to travel these miles, it had to be a major undertaking to travel so far in those days. I said all of that to say this. No matter what it took, Jesus was willing to do the Father's will. It didn't matter how far it was, how dangerous it was, Jesus did what the Father wanted Him to do. We gripe and complain about how hard it is for us to serve the Lord in a day when we have modern conveniences. Folks, Jesus WALKED probably close to 80 MILES to fulfill the will of the Father. And we gripe and complain about having to drive a short distance to worship the Lord. We should be ashamed!
In verse 14 and 15 we see John being submissive unto the King. The word hindered carries the meaning of trying to change someone's mind. In other words, John didn't really want to baptize Jesus and tried to talk Him out of it. John didn't see any need for Jesus to be baptized, so he tried to change His mind. Folks, I believe beyond a shadow of a doubt, that John knew Jesus was the Son of God, and that there was no need for Him to show repentance through baptism, because He didn't need to repent. Jesus lived a perfect life, so there was no need for repentance. But we see in verse 15 that Jesus wanted John to baptize Him. The word "suffer" carries the meaning of to permit. Jesus gave John permission to baptize Him. But why? If Jesus didn't need to be baptized, why was He wanting to, seeing that there was no need to show the world that He had repented? We find the answer in the latter part of verse 15. It was to fulfill all righteousness. The word "righteousness" means the character or quality of being right or just in the eyes of God. So in other words, it was the right thing to do for John to baptize Jesus. It was the will of God the Father for His Son the be baptized, and Jesus, being an obedient Son, fulfilled the Father's will. Folks, Jesus painted us a picture here of being an obedient child. He did what the Father wanted. If we don't follow the will of the Father how can we be obedient? Jesus was not showing the world that baptism is necessary for salvation, but instead is teaching us about obeying. Do you obey the will of the Father? Not just in baptism, but in every aspect of your life? Jesus set the example for us. Are we following His example?
As we look now at verse 16, the first thing I would like you to notice is that Jesus came up straightway out of the water. The word straightway carries the meaning of directly. In our manner of speaking today, we would say as soon as. So, we would say that as soon as Jesus came up out of the water. Notice though what Jesus did. He came up! How can someone come up from something if they didn't go down? Jesus was immersed! Why is this important? Folks, this verse tells me that there is only one way for scriptural baptism and that is through immersion. Jesus wasn't sprinkled, but instead went fully into the water and then came up out of the water. There are some that may say that times change though and now other methods are acceptable. That is a lie straight from Satan himself! The Word of God never changes, just each persons understanding as they grow and mature in the Lord. I see things now in the Scripture, as I grow in the Lord, that I never saw before. The Word didn't change. My understanding of the Scripture changed. Folks, I'll say it again. Total immersion is the only Scriptural baptism. But why total immersion? Look at it this way. Baptism is a picture of the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord. When you bury someone, do you just sprinkle them with dirt? Do you leave a arm or leg out of the grave? NO! You bury them completely. And since baptism is a picture of Jesus' burial, there has to be total immersion. There is no substitute.
Now I would like us to look at the latter part of verse 16 and verse 17. In these we see something that has been hinted at throughout the Old Testament but is actually seen for the first time. It is the Triune aspect of God, or as most people call it, the Trinity. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit, was all present at the same time. Jesus, God the Son, came up out of the water. God the Spirit descended like a dove, and the voice was God the Father. But why was it necessary for the Trinity to all be there at the same time? Brethren, I believe that they were all there at same time to give affirmation to the start of Jesus' personal ministry. We have no record of Jesus preaching before this, and remember, He is about 30 years old at this time. It is my belief that they were all there to witness and testify that this was indeed the Son of God.
In the latter part of verse 17 notice that God says that this is His beloved Son and that He is well pleased. Folks, this tells me that God was pleased with the actions of His Son. Jesus was obedient unto the Father, and God was pleased. Could God say that about us today? Does your actions please God? For your actions to please God, first you have to be a child of God. There is only one way to do that, and that is to accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour. Have you accepted Jesus as your Saviour? If not, I urge you to do so today
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Bro. Freddie
4 Pointer
Missionary Baptist Minister
Posts: 184
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Post by Bro. Freddie on Mar 30, 2008 3:54:39 GMT -5
Matthew 4:1-4 (King James Version)
1. Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. 2. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He was afterward an hungred. 3. And when the tempter came to Him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. 4. But He answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
So far in our study of Matthew, we have seen the genealogy of Jesus, His birth and some of the events surrounding it, John the Baptist's ministry, and the baptism of Jesus. Today, we are going to start looking at a part of Jesus' life that most people either ignore or overlook on purpose. That is the temptation of Jesus by Satan in the wilderness. The reason I believe most people ignore this part is because they refuse to accept the fact that Jesus was both God and man. They want to say that since Jesus was the Son of God that it was easy to live a perfect life. But it wasn't! He was God in human flesh, but He suffered the same temptations that each and every one of us do.
In verse 1 we find a continuation of what happened immediately after Jesus' baptism. If you will recall, as soon as Jesus came up out of the water, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him like a dove, and the Father spoke in an audible voice saying that Jesus was His beloved Son. Immediately after this Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. This happened right afterwards. There was no time to get ready, nothing. This is all signified by the word "then". Notice also that Jesus was submissive unto the leadership of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit led Jesus into a place where normally people didn't go. This wilderness was probably somewhere upon the banks of the Jordan River, but was a place of desolation, or few if any human habitation. It was a place of rugged gorges and bad lands. In ancient times this area was infested with wild animals. Except for a brief time during the spring rains the wilderness is arid (Baker's Bible Atlas). So you can see that this is not a place that a person would willingly go into. But Jesus, being obedient unto the Holy Spirit, went willingly. We also see the purpose of Jesus going into this wilderness. It was to be tempted of the Devil. We will get more into this later. There is one very important thing we need to learn just from this simple verse. Jesus was submissive unto the leadership of the Holy Spirit. He followed the Holy Spirit into a place where there was very little water, no food, and few if any people. Folks, Jesus set the example for us! We should be willing to go where ever the Holy Spirit leads us, ready to grow in the Lord. Now, don't get me wrong. Jesus didn't need to learn or grow spiritually. But He was God in human flesh. We are not! We should follow where ever He leads. Are we?
In verse 2 we see that Jesus fasted for 40 days and 40 nights. Now, I'm not an expert on fasting, in fact, I had to do some research on this subject. I know that there are several of you that know more about this than me, but I have learned a few things. A fast is doing without something, normally food, but it could include anything, from pleasures of the flesh to other desires. A fast prepares the body for a great undertaking by cleansing it from toxins. A person who fasts normally drinks only water or fruit juice and abstains from food. Now, I have never voluntary fasted, but I have learned that after 3 days, the desire to eat fades and the body starts a natural cleansing. In Biblical times a person fasted to show piety, or repentance, or to prepare for a great task. I believe that latter is why Jesus fasted. He knew that Satan was going to tempt Him, so He prepared for these temptations. But why 40 days? Why not just a few days? It has been researched by medical professionals that after 21 days, the mind becomes clearer and thinks sharper. It is my firm belief that Jesus was spending time with the Father during this time, in prayer, and was enjoying it so much that He continued His fast until His body naturally desired food. One commentator I read said that when the body is ready to end the fast, the hunger pangs return. Jesus knew the task ahead of Him wasn't going to be easy, so He prepared for it. But what can we glean from this in our walk with the Lord? Brethren, sometimes we need to focus on nothing but the Lord. We need to forget the everyday cares of this world, and focus only on Him. Thats what Jesus did when He fasted. He focused only on the Father to the exclusion of everything else. Now, I'm not saying a person needs to go out and fast for 40 days so that they may focus on the Lord. I am saying that we need to do without somethings in our life for a while so that the Lord is our center of attention for an extended period of time. If something in your life is keeping you from serving the Lord as you should, if you fasted from it, you would probably find out that you didn't really need that in your life at all. What is hindering your service to the Lord? What is keeping you from focusing on the Lord completely?
As we look now at verse 3 we see that Jesus gave Satan every advantage. We see nothing to indicate that at this time Jesus had broken His fast, but He was hungry. How do I know this? The end of verse 2 and the beginning of verse 3 says that Jesus was hungry AND Satan came to Him. Folks, I believe that Jesus was hungry and that Satan knew it and tried to use it to his advantage. That is the way that Satan operates. He will look for a weak spot in our life and will try to exploit it. Satan knows our weakness! And knowing our weakness, he will do every thing he can to ruin our testimony for the Lord. And our weakness can be anything, that is why we have to be always on our guard. Another thing that I noticed in verse 3 was that Matthew called Satan the tempter. When I started studying this, I was reminded of a television show back in the 70's. It was the Flip Wilson show. Flip played a part called Geraldine and the catch phrase was "The devil made me do it". Folks, Satan can't make you do anything! He can lay the temptation out there and through your own free will, you can accept or reject that temptation. Look at the example of Job. He had lost everything, including his health, and his wife even told him to curse God and die. But Job refused to accept that temptation and he kept on serving the Lord. Brethren, we need to be more like Job. When temptations come your way, do you accept them or are you like Job and reject them? God will always provide a way for us to resist temptation. Are we looking for that way though? Getting back to our verse, we see Satan's first temptation of Jesus. And what a cruel temptation it was. Jesus was hungry and Satan tries to get Him to turn the rocks into bread. Can't you hear the sneer in Satan's voice? IF you are the Son of God. Folks, Satan knew Jesus was the Son of God! He had already tried to kill Him when He was a child. But Satan knew that Jesus was also in a weakened state. So he tried to use a temptation that would cause Jesus to sin. Satan called Jesus' deity into question while also trying to get Jesus to satisfy His hunger. Brethren, this is the same trick Satan used on Eve back in the garden of Eden. It is one of Satan's main ploys. To call into question the deity of God. And he is still using it today!
In verse 4 we see Jesus' answer to Satan's temptation. His answer was that man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. What a profound statement! This is a direct quote from Deuteronomy 8:3. I think it would be good to first look at what is behind Deuteronomy 8:3, so that we may better understand why Jesus used this particular quotation. Now, Deuteronomy was the last book written by Moses and is his farewell address to the nation of Israel during their wanderings. They are about to enter the promised land, and, Moses, realizing he will not, is giving them his final instructions. In this wonderful book, Moses goes over the Law again, re-visits their wanderings, and challenges the people. In Deuteronomy 8:3 Moses reminds the people that in their 40 years of wanderings that God allowed them to be hungry and then fed them with manna to teach them a lesson. This was to teach the people that physical food, while important to sustain the physical body, is not nearly as important as spiritual food. Now, back to Matthew 4:4. Why did Jesus use this verse instead of any number of others? Folks, it is the same lesson God taught the children of Israel. Spiritual food is more important than physical food. Look at it this way. Which will live longer, your soul or your body? If you answered body, we need to have a talk. IT IS YOUR SOUL! So why wouldn't food that feeds your soul be more important than that which feeds your body? Your soul will exist forever while your body will die. Which would you rather feed? Another thing I want us to notice is how Jesus answered Satan. In each of the temptations, Jesus answered with Scripture. Brethren, should we be any different? Jesus set the example for us, so we should follow it! When temptation comes in your life, and believe me, it will, the best way to answer it is with Scripture. That is why it is so important to study. Satan knows the Scripture better than you or I do. He can twist it around to get people confused and to get them to sin. He did it to Eve in the Garden of Eden. And he is still doing it today! We need to study the Scriptures so we know what they teach, not what we think, or what someone tells us, but what they actually teach. And how will we know what the Scriptures teach? By study!
Today we have seen the first of Satan's temptations of Jesus. We have seen how Jesus was hungry, how Satan tempted Him, and how Jesus answered. I would like you to consider a few things in closing. Have you spent any time with the Lord lately to the exclusion of everything else? Do you know the Scriptures well enough to answer any temptation with them? If not, why not? What is more important to you, your physical body, which will die and decay, or your soul, which lives forever?
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Bro. Freddie
4 Pointer
Missionary Baptist Minister
Posts: 184
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Post by Bro. Freddie on Apr 2, 2008 3:31:12 GMT -5
Matthew 4:5-7 (King James Version)
5. Then the devil taketh Him up into the holy city, and setteth Him on a pinnacle of the temple. 6. And saith unto Him. If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give His angels charge concerning thee: and In their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. 7. Jesus said unto him, It is written, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
If you will recall, last time we looked at the first temptation of Jesus by Satan. We saw how Jesus was led into the wilderness by the Spirit and how He fasted for 40 days. We also saw that at the end of His fast, when Jesus was hungry that Satan tempted Jesus with a basic human desire, that of satisfying His hunger. We saw how Jesus resisted that temptation by using Scripture, something that each of us should do when temptations come our way. We are now going to look at the second of the temptations and hopefully learn something that will help us in our everyday walk with the Lord.
In verse 5 the first thing we should notice is the logical indicator "then". This means that what happens next immediately follows what proceeds it. There is no time gap or time between. These happened one right after the other. In other words, Satan didn't give Jesus any time to rest between these temptations. Satan kept after Him. And Satan does the same thing to us today. I have noticed in my life, as I'm sure you have, that if I am able to withstand one temptation, Satan is right there with another. He tries to wear us down so that we will succumb to his temptations and sin. Brethren, we need to always be on guard for the temptations that follow after a previous temptation. Those are the ones that will get you. The next thing we should notice is that Satan took Jesus somewhere. As I sat and thought on this, it occurred to me that Jesus gave Satan every advantage in these temptations. Jesus allowed Satan to take Him somewhere. Now, there are some scholars that believe that Satan never physically carried Jesus anywhere, but that this was all in Jesus' mind. That is possible, but I am of the belief that Satan actually carried Jesus to these places. While it doesn't really matter which school of thought you are in this, what really matters is that these temptations were real, whether at an actual place or not. Anyway, Jesus gave Satan the advantage by allowing him to either physically take Him somewhere, or mentally take Him somewhere. Satan thought he had control over Jesus by being able to do this, but we all know who really is in control. In the last part of verse 5 we see where Jesus was taken. It was to the pinnacle of the Temple. It is impossible to know exactly what portion of the Temple is referred to by the phrase "the pinnacle". The use of the definite article makes it plain that it was not a pinnacle but THE pinnacle. There is a lot of different opinions about this, and while we don't know for sure, a lot of the scholars suggest that this pinnacle was actually a battlement ordered by law upon every roof of the Temple. Remember, the Temple was the most imposing structure in Jerusalem. What is important is not where the pinnacle was, but only that it was probably the highest part of the Temple, and if one fell, it would be certain death. I also think that it is important to know why Satan took Jesus to the Temple. Other than it being one of the tallest, if not the tallest, I believe Jesus allowed Satan to take Him here to teach us something. Think a minute. What was the Temple? It was the house of God! Folks, just like then, Satan knows where the house of God is today. It is my firm belief that when someone comes under conviction by the Holy Spirit that Satan is there also working against the Holy Spirit. When I was under conviction to surrender to preach, Satan was telling me to wait another week, that I would mess it up, that there were too many people there and all sorts of excuses. Folks, Satan is alive and working today! Don't fall into his trap. If the Holy Spirit is convicting you of something, don't listen to Satan, surrender to the will of the Lord. You will never regret it!
In verse 6 we see Satan using another of his tricks. That is subverting the Scriptures. The Scripture quoted here is from Psalms 91:11, 12, but he left part of it out. Psalms 91:11 reads "For He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. See what Satan did? He twisted the Scriptures, by leaving out what would seem insignificant, to mean something entirely different. Satan twisted this so that it would seem that Jesus could not of hurt His foot by stumbling on a rock. But, if you read the entire verse, the angels were there to protect Jesus in all the ways that was right so that Jesus could fulfill His mission. Jesus didn't come to take chances, but to seek and to save the lost. Brethren, Satan knows the Scriptures better than we do. He can twist them in such a way that they can mean something totally different. That is why it is so important to study! As I sat and studied on these temptations, I finally realized what these first 2 temptations were about. The first one was to show distrust in God, that He will not supply our daily needs. The second was to show over confidence, or presumption, in the protective hand of God. Sure, God has promised to protect me, but not from my own stupidity. I could climb the highest building in the U.S. and jump off, expecting God to protect me from harm, but that would be stepping out of the path that God has laid out for me. It would be utter foolishness to think that God would protect me from that kind of stupidity when it is against His will.
In verse 7, we see Jesus again using Scripture to resist the temptation of Satan. This time He uses Deuteronomy 6:16. Again, we see the Lord using Scripture in it's perfect context, instead of like Satan, who took the Scripture out of context. In Deuteronomy 6, Moses is going into detail about how God is a jealous God and that the children of Israel should not chase after other people's gods. The word "tempt" means to provoke. Jesus was telling Satan not to provoke Him or in other words, not to try to get Him to do something that wasn't of the Father's will. See, Satan tried to get Jesus to step out of the will of the Father by proving that He was the Son of God. God knew who His Son was and Jesus knew who His Father was, so why should He have to prove it? Folks, there is a lesson in faith right there. We should be able to look at what Jesus has done for us and accept by faith that He is indeed the Son of God. We should need no other proof than what is in the Scriptures!
Today we have looked at the second temptation of Jesus. We have learned that Satan knows the Scriptures better than we do, and that the best way to answer his temptations is with the correct Scripture. When Satan tempts you, how do you respond? Do you fall for the temptation, thus sinning and getting out of the Father's will? Or do you know the Scriptures well enough to answer with the correct Scripture? How much time per day do you devote to studying the Scriptures so that you can turn away from Satan's temptations? You may say that you don't have enough time in the day to study. Whose fault is that? God gave each of us 24 hours in the day. How you spend it is your choice. If you refuse to study, you are actually telling the Lord that you don't love Him enough to learn more about Him. So, how much do you love the Lord? Do you love Him enough to study His Word?
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Bro. Freddie
4 Pointer
Missionary Baptist Minister
Posts: 184
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Post by Bro. Freddie on Apr 6, 2008 4:57:07 GMT -5
Matthew 4:8-11 (King James Version)
8. Again, the devil taken Him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth Him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; 9. And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. 10. The saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. 11. Then the devil leaveth Him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto Him.
This is the third sermon in a series of three on the temptations of Jesus by Satan. In the previous two, we have seen where Satan tempted Jesus with food, to satisfy the flesh, and with reckless abandon, to satisfy the ego. If you will recall, Jesus has been on a fast for 40 days and nights, and was hungry. That is when Satan struck. Satan had every advantage there was, and still failed to get Jesus to sin. First was the temptation to satisfy the flesh by turning rocks into food. Second was the temptation to satisfy the ego by jumping off a high point on the Temple and having the angels rescue Him. In both instances, Jesus answered with Scripture. Lat's now look at the third temptation and see how Jesus handled it, and how we should handle temptation when it comes our way.
In verse 8 we see that Satan took Jesus to a exceedingly high mountain. Like stated previously, some believe that Satan never physically carried Jesus to a high mountain, but that it was all in Jesus' mind. And then again, some believe that Satan actually carried Jesus to a mountain. Whether or not that happened, that is not important. What is important is that Jesus was tempted by Satan when He was physically weak and hungry. Satan had every advantage. Folks, we have to be on guard for Satan's attacks all the time. Satan will take every advantage we give him and turn it into temptations to cause us to sin and turn away from God. Look at the example of Job. From the human standpoint, Job had every reason to curse God, but he didn't. Job lost everything, including his health, but he still remained true to his God. Can we say that? When things don't go exactly our way, do we still praise the Lord? Or do we look to blame God? As we look further in verse 8 we see that it was an exceedingly high mountain that Satan took Jesus to. Now, the mountain is not specifically named but as I studied this, I immediately thought of Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world. Now, it may not have been Mount Everest that Satan took Jesus to, but that is what I thought of. Anyway, Satan showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and all their glory. The reason I thought of Everest is that when people reach the summit, they say that they can see the entire world before them. And from pictures that I have seen, they can see alot of it on a clear day. But Satan showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the earth and their glory. Folks, I have no evidence other than my own thoughts on this, but I believe that it was all the known kingdoms at that time, and all future kingdoms, including the United States. Wouldn't that fit in with the way Satan operates? He wanted to impress Jesus with his power and what better way to impress Him than showing Him the future countries of the world? Another thing that hit me is that Satan showed Jesus all the kingdom's glory. Satan wasn't just satisfied with just showing all the kingdoms, but he showed Jesus all the glory attached. I believe Satan showed Him all the glitz and glitter of each kingdom. He showed Jesus all that each kingdom had to offer.
In verse 9 we see Satan's temptation. He told Jesus that if He would fall down and worship him, all these would be His. Folks, this is the temptation of power. How many times have you heard someone say that the ends justify the means? In other words, it doesn't matter how you get to your goal as long as you get there. Well, it does matter! There is no right time to do wrong, no matter what the end result is. Satan offered Jesus a shortcut to what is rightfully His. Jesus created the world so by right of creation, it is His anyways. Satan offered something to Jesus that was already His! Jesus could have taken this shortcut and not have to have gone through all the suffering He knew was ahead of Him. But what would have happened to mankind? We would have no hope of salvation and would spend eternity in hell. Folks, Jesus loved us so much that He refused to take the easy way out!
As we look now to verse 10 we see again that Jesus answered temptation with Scripture. Folks, I can't stress enough how important it is to study so that you will be able to answer the temptations Satan sends your way properly. Without study, we will give the wrong answer thus allowing Satan to have a greater advantage than he already has. The Scripture Jesus used in answering this temptation is found in Deuteronomy 6:13. Moses is stressing the importance of serving God alone, and not chasing after other gods. Now, we may not have the other gods that the children of Israel did, meaning false gods, but there are still things in our life today that we place before God. It could be hunting, fishing, other personal interests, whatever. Anything that we place before our service to God is a false god. Brethren, we need to cleanse our life of these things, so that we may serve God as He intended us to serve Him, totally and completely.
In verse 11 we see that Satan was defeated and left Jesus. Folks, Jesus passed every test that Satan threw at Him with flying colors. Jesus was able to refute every one of Satan's temptations with Scripture thus remaining sinless.The King of Kings gave His adversary every advantage and still prevailed. Glory Hallelujah! Jesus won! Why am I rejoicing? Because if Jesus had failed He would not have been the perfect Lamb for our sins. But, He prevailed over Satan thus remaining the perfect sacrifice for our sins. In the latter part of verse 11 we see that the angels came and ministered unto Him. The word "minister" means to serve or to be an attendant. The angels came and saw to Jesus' needs. It is possible that they brought Him food to break His fast, but we don't know for sure. But what is important is that the angels, the messengers of God, we subservient to Jesus. Folks, the angels were under Jesus! Too many people today worship things other than Jesus, including angels. We should worship Jesus and Jesus alone!
Today we have seen the third temptation of Jesus by Satan. We have seen how it was of power or authority, over all the nations. We have seen how Jesus answered this temptation, with Scripture, and remained sinless. This passage demands one question. Who or what is your god? Do you serve the God of creation, or is there something in your life that you place before God? Who or what do you serve?
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Bro. Freddie
4 Pointer
Missionary Baptist Minister
Posts: 184
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Post by Bro. Freddie on Apr 9, 2008 3:02:30 GMT -5
Matthew 4:12-17 (King James Version)
12. Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, He departed into Galilee. 13. And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim. 14. That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, 15. The land of Zabulon, and the land of Naphthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; 16. The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up. 17. From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
For the last few weeks we have been looking at the temptations of Jesus by Satan. Jesus was in the wilderness at this time, probably along the Jordan River. We know He fasted for 40 days and forty nights, then was tempted by the great tempter, Satan. And Jesus answered all of Satan's temptations with Scripture. Today, we are going to start to look at Jesus' personal ministry, His travels during that time, and what He preached. Hopefully we will each learn something that will improve our walk with the Lord.
In verse 12 the first thing we see is that Jesus heard that John was in prison. As I started studying this, I realized that there was a time lapse between now and the temptations of Jesus. Matthew, through the leadership of the Holy Spirit, had not recorded some things in the life of Jesus. One thing I need to point out here is that the Gospels are NOT a chronological story of Jesus. Each of the Gospels present Jesus in a different light. Matthew presents Jesus as the King of Kings, while John presents him as the true light of the world. Matthew didn't record John's testimony before the Sanhedrin court, Jesus' first miracle, the first cleansing of the Temple, or His interview with Nicodemus. While all these are important, the Holy Spirit saw fit for Matthew not to write these down. Why? I believe that these were not in keeping with the general theme of Matthew which was Jesus was the King of Kings. Getting back to our verse, we see that Jesus had heard that John was in prison. Now, John had been thrown into prison for preaching to Herod Antipas that adultery was wrong. Folks, we should preach the truth no matter what the cost! John preached to the ruler of the land at that time that it wasn't right to take another's wife and it eventually cost him his life. Today, we are so politically correct that we are afraid to preach the truth because we are afraid of offending someone. Folks, John didn't worry about this and neither should we. We should preach the truth no matter what the cost!
We now need to look at part of verse 12 and 13 together. We see that Jesus left the area of where He was tempted and went back to Galilee, or more specifically Nazareth. Now don't get confused, Galilee is a province while Nazareth is a town. The best way to look at it is that Galilee is a county (or parish) while Nazareth is the town inside that county. Jesus stays a short time at Nazareth, but we are not sure how long. We do know that it wasn't very long though. Some have said that the reason He left Nazareth was because of the murderous intentions of it's citizens and the unbelief of His family. If you will recall, most of His family didn't believe He was the Messiah until after His resurrection. So, while that may have been the problem, all I can say for sure is I don't know the exact reason Jesus left Nazareth. But the fact is He left Nazareth and moved to Capernaum. Capernaum was about 20 miles or so from Nazareth, and was on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee. It is about 2 1/2 miles from where the Jordan river enters the Sea of Galilee. Capernaum was probably a military outpost for the Roman army, along the road that went from Damascus to Jerusalem. Peter had a house here, and could have been used as Jesus' headquarters, but again, we are not certain on that fact. Capernaum was in the territory that was owned by the tribe of Nephthalin (or Naphtali), and Nazareth was in the territory controlled by Zabulon (or Zebulon). This is why the Scriptures say that He was in the borders of both Naphtali and Zebulon. But why is it important that we know this? Capernaum, and the surrounding area, was where Jesus did most of His preaching. It is there that He performed many miracles and preached to the multitudes. Also it was a fulfillment of prophecy which we will look at in the next 3 verses.
In verses 14 through 16 we see that Matthew quotes from Isaiah 9:1 and 2. This prophecy was given somewhere around 735 B.C. (we think) which would make it at least 750 years old. Folks, God is not slack concerning His promises! He promised that a Saviour would come and He delivered on that promise. Notice in verse 15 that Isaiah told Israel exactly where Jesus would be raised and preach. Jesus was raised in Nazareth which is in the territory controlled by the tribe of Zebulon, and preached in Capernaum which is in the area controlled by Naphtali. Just think, 750 years earlier Isaiah preached that the Saviour would live and preach in these areas, and He did. What a glorious fulfillment of prophecy! In verse 16 we also see Isaiah giving the people of Israel hope. Isaiah uses a play on words here, and I'll try to explain it so you will understand too. First, we have to set the background. Isaiah prophesied mainly to the Kingdom of Judah but also to the Kingdom of Israel. He prophesied about the coming Assyrian invasion to both kingdoms. Since Babylon was to the north of Israel, in modern day Syria, it is only natural that the invading army would conquer those to the north of Jerusalem first and Zebulon and Napthali were to the north of Jerusalem. These regions were among the first to be conquered by Nebecazzar's army. So, Isaiah said that these people sat in darkness and the shadow of death. Doesn't that sound like what happens after an invading army rolls through? But here also is hope. Isaiah said that these people would see great light and that the light is sprung up (or dawned). Who is the light of the world? IT"S JESUS! The Light (Jesus) sprung up in Nazareth, and the people of Capernaum got to see the Light (Jesus). Folks, Isaiah preached to the people that there is hope in Jesus. I'm to preach the same thing. Are you in spiritual darkness today? Are you living in the shadow of death? Folks, Jesus is the light of the world, and in Him there is no darkness. There is only one name under heaven whereby men may be saved, and that name is Jesus. Have you trusted Him today?
In verse 17 we see that Jesus preached the same message as John the Baptist, but with one subtle difference. Both of them said the same thing, repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. But I believe that John's message was saying that the kingdom of heaven was coming, while Jesus was saying that the kingdom of heaven was here. While John was saying that the kingdom of heaven was on the way, Jesus was saying that the kingdom of heaven is here right now. Folks, Jesus is the kingdom of heaven, and we should start acting like it. Jesus is NOT something that we turn to in time of trouble, but He is the creator of the universe and should be given all the honor and respect due to Him.
In conclusion, we have seen the end of John's ministry and the beginning of Jesus'. We have seen the fulfillment of prophecy yet again. We have also seen that the kingdom of heaven is Jesus and that we should start acting like He is. Are we? Or do we just treat Jesus like He is our safety net?
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Post by Josh A on Apr 9, 2008 9:23:17 GMT -5
Great study!! Thanks Bro. Freddie
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Bro. Freddie
4 Pointer
Missionary Baptist Minister
Posts: 184
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Post by Bro. Freddie on Apr 13, 2008 3:42:52 GMT -5
Matthew 4:18-22 (King James Version)
18. And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. 19. And He saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. 20. And they straightway left their nets, and followed Him. 21. And going on from thence, He saw two other brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them. 22. And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed Him.
If you will recall, last week we saw Jesus in Capernaum. He had left the wilderness along the Jordan, traveled back to Nazareth, then moved to Capernaum. This was done so that the prophecy of Isaiah might be fulfilled. Today. we are going to look at something that I believe is very important, and while some might disagree with me, I believe is supported by the Scriptures. Please keep an open mind as we study this passage today, so that you will get the full meaning of the Scriptures.
In verse 18 we see Jesus walking along the shores of the Sea of Galilee. Now, Capernaum, where Jesus was living, was about 2 1/2 miles from where the Jordan River emptied into the Sea of Galilee. From all that I can tell, Capernaum was on the shore of the sea, but about 2 1/2 miles from the start of this inland sea. The Sea of Galilee was about 60 miles north of Jerusalem, and is between 80 and 160 feet deep. It's waters are blue and sweet. It has an abundance of fish and at least 9 cities, with a population of no less than 15,000 were along it's banks. So we can see that the Sea of Galilee was an important place to the people of Israel during this time. Anyway, Jesus was walking along the banks of this sea when He saw Peter and Andrew casting a net into the sea. Now, we are not sure if they were toward the Jordan River, or along the western bank. It doesn't really matter. What matters is that they were fishing and Jesus came upon them. Two things stand out to me in this verse. (1). Peter and Andrew were not in a boat. They were either on the bank on just out in the surf fishing. Now, whether or not they couldn't afford a boat, we don't know. It could be that this was just their preferred mode of fishing. But whatever the case, they were close to the bank. (2). Peter and Andrew were brothers, so therefore this was their families livelihood. Fishing was how they fed their family. To me, these men were responsible family men who were trying to take care of their family. But the main thing we need to notice in this verse is that Jesus found them. Folks, when the Lord is looking for you, He will find you! There is no hiding from the God of the universe.
In verse 19 we see Jesus calling Peter and Andrew to service. They were already saved, because they had been following John the Baptist. In John 1:35-42 we find that Peter and Andrew had been with John the Baptist and after Jesus started His ministry, they left John and started following Him. I know it's a little confusing, considering that Jesus found them on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, so I will try to explain. From my understanding, Peter and Andrew were followers of John, but not full time. They would go and listen to his preaching, and then return home for work. But, when Jesus called them on the shores of Galilee, it was not a call of salvation, but one of full-time service. Notice the simple message Jesus used to call these men. It was one they could understand. He didn't say that He would make them Apostles, but fishers of men. They were fishermen, so fishers of men would have been something that they could relate to. Folks, we need to be more like Jesus and keep the message simple. He didn't use a long flowery oratory to call these men. He kept it simple so that they would understand. One other thing I would like us to notice is the phrase "will make". Jesus' call was an ongoing thing. They would not be great fishers of men right off the bat, but it would be a growing process. Brethren, we should always be growing in the Lord. There is no such thing as knowing all there is to know about Him. That is why we should study and pray so that we can grow in the Lord. It is just like a child. When a child is born, they don't know everything they should know, but as they grow up, they learn the things that would make them productive citizens in this world. It is the same way with the Lord. As we grow in our knowledge of the Lord, we should be a better servant for Him. Are we? Are we growing in the Lord, or are we content to stay where we are?
As we look now at verse 20 we notice that they straightway left their nets and followed Him. It never hurts to identify who the people are, and define a word or two. The "they" spoken of here is Peter and Andrew, and the "Him" is Jesus. The word "straightway" is defined as at once. The word "followed" is defined as one going the same way. So, we see that Peter and Andrew left their nets at once and went the same way as Jesus. Their was no hesitation, no doubt. They didn't go home, as far as I can tell, to inform their family. Peter and Andrew immediately dropped what they were doing and followed the Lord. They answered His call! Brethren, when the Lord calls you, there is nothing that is more important than answering that call. Peter and Andrew answered by dropping everything and following Him. Would we? Do you love the Lord enough that when He calls you will drop what you are doing, no matter what, and follow Him? I have said before that when the Lord called me to preach, I resisted for several years. I thought that I would mess up the Gospel. Brethren I was wrong! I should have answered the call immediately and trusted in Him to make sure I didn't mess up His message. Folks, if the Lord is calling you for a special service, answer the call. It could be to preach, to teach, or just to keep the church yard clean, but answer the call. You will be truly blessed if you do.
In verse 21 Jesus goes further along the coast of the Sea of Galilee, I believe with Peter and Andrew, and finds Zebedee with his two sons, James and John, in a boat mending their nets. I get the feeling from reading this verse that James and John were a little better off, money wise, than Peter and Andrew, but I may be wrong. The family owned a boat, so therefore I feel that they had a little more money than the others. A couple of things I noticed in this verse that I think it would do well for everyone to notice also. First, they were family men. Their father Zebedee was a fisherman and they followed in his footsteps. Zebedee had raised his sons to work for a living, and they were doing that. One of the greatest thrills a father can experience is having his sons follow in his footsteps. Isn't that the same way with God the Father? He desires for His children to follow the example He set. Secondly, I noticed that it was up in the day. James and John had already been out fishing, and were now back on the bank repairing their nets. Now, I'm not going to go into a discourse about the nets, just that they were probably a lot like our seine nets of today. What I am going to go into though is the repair needed on these nets. When a fisherman is repairing his nets, that is time that he can not be fishing, thus not supplying for his family's needs. So, keeping a net in good repair was very important. James and John knew this, and was working hard at repairing their net. But what spiritual significance can we draw from this? Folks, we need to keep our tools of the trade, meaning Bible and testimony, in good repair. We have to work to make sure our testimony is one that is showing the Lord to those who are lost. Can people look at your life and say "There goes a child of God"? Lastly, I also noticed in this verse that Jesus called them. It was the same call that He used on Peter and Andrew. It wasn't some other call, but the exact same one. Folks, 14 men were all that were ever called to the office of Apostle. I believe that 10 of these were exactly the same. But what is important is the call. Jesus called them to follow Him! He is still calling to mankind today! Not as an Apostle, but as a servant. Are you listening to His call?
In verse 22 we see James' and John's response to Jesus' call. Their answer was the same as Peter's and Andrew's. They left the boat and their father and immediately followed Him. There was no hesitation, no getting ready to go, nothing. I believe that they told their father good-bye as they departed the boat and went with Jesus.But what I want us to think about here is the faith it took these men to follow Jesus. How big was this step in faith for these men to leave everything that they were familiar with and follow a man who claimed to be the Son of God? There were others who had claimed to be the Messiah, but weren't. And John the Baptist was the only one who had actually claimed that Jesus was the Son of God, or at least he is the only one we know of. So how big was their leap of faith? Folks, it was a huge leap of faith for these men to just leave everything and follow Jesus. They left their home, their livelihood, everything that they were familiar with and followed the Lord. I believe that when Jesus spoke to these men, they knew in their souls that he was the Son of God and that they needed to follow Him. But it was still an act of faith to leave everything behind and follow Him. Do we have that kind of faith?
In conclusion, we have seen today the start of the first church when Jesus called His Apostles. It is my firm belief that this was when the church was started, not on the Day of Pentecost like some teach. We have seen the act of faith it took these men to leave everything behind and follow the Lord. They were willing to follow the Lord no matter what the cost was. Are we? Do we have the faith to drop everything and follow Him when He calls? Are we willing to follow the Lord no matter what?
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Bro. Freddie
4 Pointer
Missionary Baptist Minister
Posts: 184
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Post by Bro. Freddie on Apr 16, 2008 3:30:57 GMT -5
Matthew 4:23-25 (King James Version)
23. And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. 24. And His fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto Him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and He healed them. 25. And there followed Him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan.
If you will recall, we have been looking at the early ministry of Jesus. Last time we saw how He called His first Apostles and the beginning of the first church. We saw how 4 men answered the call to follow Him and He would make them fishers of men. This time we are going to continue to look at His early ministry and the effect it had on the people of that time.
In verse 23 we read that Jesus went about all Galilee teaching, preaching and healing. Now remember, Galilee was a province of Israel, not a country. It is kinda like we refer to the United States today. We have the South, the Midwest, the North, the Northwest, etc. We have different regions and it was the same way then too. Now the Galilee province was divided up into 2 regions, the upper Galilee and the lower Galilee. The lower Galilee was a area of plains which produced grain. The upper Galilee was a mountainous region which grew a lot of olives. I believe Jesus was in the lower Galilee region during this time because of what is going to happen soon (more on that in a later sermon). But anyway, Jesus went about this region teaching, preaching and healing. I want us to look at these in a little more detail. First, Jesus taught in the synagogues. There is evidence that the synagogues sprang up during the time of the Babylonian captivity, but we have no firm record of this. The synagogues were places that the Jews met every Sabbath to be instructed in the Law, not places to worship. Since a church is a place of worship, there is a difference between that and a synagogue. Don't get the two confused! But what I want us to notice is that Jesus taught. Folks, Jesus knew the Law and He instructed the people in it. Let's think about that a moment. How do you think Jesus taught the Law to the people? Do you think He was like the Pharisees and Sadducee's who taught the letter of the Law but not the spirit? NO! Jesus taught the Law in the manner it was designed, which was to point people to Him. Remember, the Law was designed to show men that they were sinners and had failed to live up to God's standards. Folks, Jesus taught the true meaning of the Law then just as He did in His later ministry. Secondly, He preached the Gospel of the kingdom. If we look at it in more detail we find that Jesus declared (preached) the good news (Gospel) of the kingdom. Well, what was this good news? It was that the Saviour was here! It is my belief that Jesus declared unto the people that He had come after about 4,000 years of prophecy. Brethren, that is good news! The King of Kings had come! Thirdly, Jesus healed all manner of sickness and disease among the people. Only the God of creation could have done this. There are those today who claim to be able to heal, but I don't see them in hospitals healing. Folks, Jesus done this in plain open sight so that all might see. He didn't do it for personal glory like those of today do, but He did it because He loved the people. One thing I want you to notice is the order of things. Jesus taught first, preached second, and then healed third. Look at the significance of this. He taught the people that they needed a Saviour, then He preached to them that He was the Saviour, then He healed them, or as I like to look at it, He saved them from the effects of their sin. Jesus showed us how to be fishers of men! We should follow His example! We should first teach others that they are sinners, in love not malice. Then we are to tell them of the love Jesus has for them. Then, Jesus will heal them of the consequences of sin. Are we following Jesus' example?
As we look at verse 24, the first thing I noticed is that His fame went out throughout all Syria. Now "fame" doesn't mean famous. It means to hear a report about. So the people of Syria heard a good report about Jesus. Now, I haven't been able to nail down exactly what Matthew means when he used the term "Syria". It could have been the country of Syria that we know today, or it could have been smaller, or it could have even been something else. One commentator I read says that it could have been Samaria. But I just don't know. But what I do know is that Jesus' good report was heard over a large area. Now how large that are was is something that I haven't been able to nail that down yet. But anyway, Jesus' good report was heard by the people and they believed it. And these people acted upon what they had heard. They brought all manner of sick people to Him to be healed. They brought to Him those that had diver's (or as we would say today various) diseases and torments. They brought unto Him those that were demon possessed, lunatick (epileptic), palsy (paralytic) and other various diseases. In other words, the people recognized that Jesus was the only One that could help these people that were sick. The doctor's of that era couldn't. But what I want us to learn from this verse is that the people acted upon what they had heard. Now, I don't know if these people were saved when they came to the Lord or not. That is a debate that has raged for centuries. What I do know is that when the people heard about the Lord, they acted. Do we? When you hear a message preached, and the Holy Spirit is convicting, do you act upon it?
As we look now at verse 25 we see that there were a lot of people following Jesus. They came from all over the region. They came from Galilee (a region west of the Jordan River), Decapolis (a region east of the Jordan which included the city of Damascus), Jerusalem, Judaea, and from beyond Jordan (meaning the Jordan River). In other words, they came from all over to hear Jesus. As I sat and thought on this, I asked myself why they came from such a vast area to follow Him. Could it have been for His teachings? Or was it just for the miracles? Knowing human nature, I think it was both. Some were following Him to because of His teachings, and some were there just for the miracles. I believe that some of these people actually trusted Jesus as their Saviour, while some were there just hoping to see a show. Folks, that is the same way it is in the church today. There are some who truly come to worship God, and some who come just to be seen of man. I know of people who go to church just to further their business ventures, but on the other side of the coin, I also know of those who come to truly worship the Lord. Which are you? Do you worship Jesus for who He is? Or are you there for other reasons?
This time we have seen that Jesus taught, preached and healed. We have seen that a large number of people came to Him to do what no other person could do. My question to you is have you came to Jesus? Have you trusted in Him as your personal Saviour? Or, are you claiming to be a follower just to further your own interests?
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Bro. Freddie
4 Pointer
Missionary Baptist Minister
Posts: 184
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Post by Bro. Freddie on Apr 20, 2008 5:20:25 GMT -5
Matthew 5:1-6 (King James Version)
1. And seeing the multitudes, He went up into a mountain: and when He was set, His disciples came unto Him. 2. And He opened his mouth and taught them, saying, 3. Blessed are the poor in spirit: for their's is the kingdom of heaven. 4. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. 5. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. 6. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
If you will remember, we have been studying about Jesus' ministry around the Sea of Galilee. We have seen him call His first Apostles, and we have seen him teaching, preaching, and healing. We are now going to look at the Sermon on the Mount, which takes up almost 3 chapters in Matthew. We will be on this sermon by the Lord for quite a while, so get ready.
In verse 1 the first thing I noticed was that Jesus saw the multitudes that were following him. Now, this does NOT mean that He was oblivious of them. In fact, it is quite the opposite. It means that He saw them and had compassion upon them. Jesus knew the people needed to be taught the Scriptures, and He was the person to do it. Remember, the Pharisees and the Sadducees had been teaching them, and they had perverted the Law in such a way that was entirely against what it was originally intended for, which was to point men to Jesus. Anyway, Jesus had compassion upon these people and went up into a mountain. Now, if you will remember, He was in the lower region of Galilee, which was mostly plains. So, He went up what we might call a hill, so that the people could see Him as they gathered around. After He was seated, His disciples came to Him and He began to teach them. Now, we don't know if Jesus sat on a big rock, or just a patch of ground. As I read this, I got the feeling that this hill He sat on was part of a field or pasture and not wooded. But what is important in this verse is that Jesus made Himself comfortable and got ready to teach. Folks, it takes preparation to teach. You can not teach someone the Scriptures if you have not studied, and know what the Scriptures teach. You will confuse the person you are trying to teach even more than they already are.
A lot of people just skip over verse 2 here, but I believe there is something we can learn from it. Jesus opened His mouth and taught them. Folks, the disciples, and the people, had to be taught just like we are today. They did not have a special gift from God that allowed them to know these things before they were taught. Too many times today we hold these men up to a higher standard than we hold ourselves. We think that they must have been someone very special for the Lord to have chosen them. But they were men just we are today. There was nothing special about them, other than they loved the Lord. We also see that Jesus physically taught these men. Jesus taught just like we do. He used His mouth! He didn't use any means that were supernatural, He taught them in a way that they could understand. Isn't that how we are to teach also? Shouldn't we teach so that those we are teaching can understand?
In verse 3 we see the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount. A lot of people have titled these the Beatitudes. There are 9 verses that are all begin with the word "blessed". I"ll define it here so that we won't have to define it in each and every instance. The word "blessed" means spiritually prosperous. So if you read each verse as those that are like this are spiritually prosperous you will get a better understanding of that verse. In verse 3 we see that those that are poor in spirit are spiritually prosperous because their kingdom is from the heavens. Let's look at this for just a moment. What does it mean to be poor in spirit and who are they? Look at it this way. When a person is poor, usually they are looking for a way to better themselves. It could be a job, or any number of things for them to better their situation. If a person is poor in spirit they are looking for a way to better their spirit. How could it be any better than to accept Jesus as their Saviour? When they accept Jesus as their Saviour, they automatically are assured a place in heaven. So we could translated this verse to say that those who are poor in spirit are spiritually prosperous because they have found Jesus and are now assured a place in the kingdom of heaven. Are you poor in spirit today? Is there a longing in your soul that you just don't know how to satisfy? Give your life to Jesus today and be assured of a place in His kingdom.
Verse 4 reads "Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted". Using our definition of "blessed" we see that they who mourn are spiritually prosperous, and will be comforted. The word "mourn" means to lament or to be sorrowful for. Here it is used in a general term, not being specific on a particular subject. So breaking our verse down even more, we see that those who are sorrowful will be spiritually prosperous and comforted. But what does this mean? We, as humans, tend to look upon those who are rejoicing as being blessed but Jesus says that those who mourn are blessed. So what does it mean? I believe Jesus is speaking here about spiritual things, not physical. Remember, Jesus mourned over the lost. I believe that those who are truly sorrowful for the lost will one day be comforted. These people, who have experienced the joys of salvation, and desires others to also experience these joys, are sorrowful over those who have not. These are the ones who are mourning over the lost around them, but they are doing something about it. They are praying for those souls, witnessing to them, and trying to lead them to Christ. One day, they will be comforted, either by seeing that soul saved, or by the Lord in the coming kingdom. Are you sorrowful for lost people today? When was the last time you broke down in tears for someone that was lost?
In verse 5 we see that Jesus said "Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth." The word "meek" is defined as gentle, or mild, but with strength. Right after I surrendered to preach, my pastor at the time gave me his definition of meekness which has really stuck with me. He used the example of 2 different bulls his family owned in their cattle operation. The first bull, older than the other, was a lot bigger. The second, while younger, was also smaller than the first. The smaller bull acted like he was the boss of the whole place, being unruly and wild acting. The older bull knew he was strongest, but he was also the gentlest. They could do anything they wanted with the older bull, but not with the younger. The older bull was meek. I believe this is what Jesus was meaning here when He said that those who are gentle are spiritually prosperous and will inherit the earth. We are to be gentle with others in our service to the Lord. We can not force anyone to accept Jesus as their Saviour. All we can do is present the Gospel to them in such a way that they will understand and then let the Holy Spirit do the convicting. But we are not to be too meek by being afraid to tell others about Jesus. How will others know unless we tell them? We are to be gentle in our presentation of the Gospel, but also present it with strength because we know what Jesus has done for us. But what about the part that says that those who are meek will inherit the earth? I firmly believe that this is a promise made by Jesus to those who are His children and who are meek. In Revelation, John tells of seeing a new heaven (sky) and a new earth coming down. Folks, this is the earth that Jesus promised to those who are meek. I believe that Jesus was referring to those who will rule and reign with Him on this new earth. Do you want to rule and reign in the next life? Be meek.
As we look now at verse 6 we see another aspect of the christian life. Blessed (spiritually prosperous) are they which hunger and thirst after righteousness (the quality of being right) for they shall be filled (satisfied). Jesus used an everyday aspect of life here to explain the seeking of righteousness. Let's think about something for just a moment. Let's think about hunger and thirst. We all get hungry and thirsty in our daily life, and have been since the day we were born. That is just a matter of fact. We have to have food and water to sustain us. Our body cries out for food and water daily. So when we get this way, we look or seek for something to satisfy that hunger or thirst. It is the same way spiritually. We have all looked for something to satisfy our spiritual hunger at one point in our life. But, just like physical food and water, satisfying that spiritual hunger or thirst one time won't sustain us. We have to feed our soul over and over again. We have found the source of our spiritual food, which is Jesus, but we still have to satisfy that spiritual hunger daily. How do we do this? By walking with the Lord daily, and by getting in His Word, and by applying what His Word teaches to our everyday walk of life. I promise that if you read, study, and apply the teachings of Jesus to your everyday walk of life you will satisfy your spiritual hunger.
Today we have looked at the first 4 Beatitudes. We have seen that these are all aspects of the christian life and that we should each try to show these aspects in our life to others. We should mourn for those that are lost, be meek in our dealings with others, and seek after righteousness. Do we? If these are not in our life, then you are poor in spirit, and need to come to Jesus. He is the only One that can satisfy your spiritual hunger. Have you trusted Jesus today?
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Bro. Freddie
4 Pointer
Missionary Baptist Minister
Posts: 184
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Post by Bro. Freddie on Apr 23, 2008 3:32:40 GMT -5
Matthew 5:7-12 (King James Version)
7. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. 8. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. 9. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. 10. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for their's is the kingdom of heaven. 11. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 12. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
Last time we started looking at the Sermon on the Mount. If you will recall, Jesus was on a hill, teaching the people who were following Him. The first part of His sermon was what men call the Beatitudes. Last week we looked at the first part of this and now we will look at the latter part. I haven't said this yet, but I think now is the time. I believe that this was the ordination sermon to the first church. It is my belief that the first church was started on the shores of the Sea of Galilee when Jesus called Andrew, Peter, James, and John to follow Him and He would make them fishers of men. So, what would naturally follow after starting His church would be His ordination sermon to that same church. If you will remember, in the first part of His sermon, Jesus listed some attributes of a child of God. Today, we will look at some more of these, and hopefully we will learn some things so that we will have a closer walk with the Lord.
In verse 7 we see one of the things we learned last time. If you will recall, we learned that the word "blessed" means spiritually prosperous. So we could translated verse 7 to read " Spiritually prosperous are the ones showing mercy, for they will obtain mercy. The word "mercy" is a verb here, and is defined as to feel sympathy with the misery of another. Folks, this is one of the great teachings throughout the entire Scriptures and can be simplified simply as you will reap what you sow. Jesus taught this all throughout His ministry. Look at the model prayer (some call it the Lord's prayer). "Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors". It's the same principal. As a child of God, I am to show mercy to those who may be less fortunate than me so that I may obtain mercy. Now this is NOT for salvation. Jesus was teaching those who were already saved! This is the way a child of God is to live. Often God treats us the way we treat others. You want mercy from God over the sins you have committed after salvation? Show mercy to others!
As we look now at verse 8, we see that those who are pure in heart will be spiritually prosperous because they will see God. The word "pure" here has the meaning of being cleansed. Now remember, Jesus is speaking to the saved here, so this does NOT refer to salvation. Instead this refers to an ongoing process. Being pure of heart refers to a daily cleansing of the heart. In other words, it is a daily process in which we learn things that we need to change in our life, and we apply those things to our life. Think of it this way. If you learn, through study, that something that you do is wrong, you should purge that out of your life, so that you may have a closer walk with the Lord. There are so many people today that have the idea that they are saved and because of that they are satisfied. Well, I'm saved, but I'm not satisfied. I want to grow closer to the Lord in every aspect of my life. There are things in my life that I need to change, and I'm trying to change them. I want to be pure in heart so that when I am in heaven I will be closer to the Father. Is there things that need to be cleansed from your life today?
In verse 9 we see that those that are peacemakers are spiritually prosperous and are called the sons of God. The word "peacemakers" is an adjective and this is the only time it is used in the Scriptures. We all know that an adjective describes the noun or pronoun of a sentence. So what is the noun or pronoun of this verse? It is the word "those". So who is Jesus talking about when He uses the word those? It is the saved! So, we see again that this is an characteristic of a christians life. Folks, we are to be peacemakers in our daily walk of life. We should not try to start a fight, but instead we should do everything we can to bring about peace. It can be in our marriage, our job, wherever. But we should strive for peace in our life. Look at it this way. Say you and your wife or employer are always fighting. Would that show to the world that you are a child of God? NO! It would show to everyone that you are hard to get along with. Should the child of God be known to the world this way? NO! We should strive to live peaceably with all people. Do you want to be spiritually prosperous and to be called a child of God? Live peaceably!
Verse 10 says that those who are being persecuted for righteousness' sake are spiritually prosperous. The word "persecuted" carries the meaning of an ongoing action. In fact it means those who are being persecuted and and continue to be persecuted for the sake of righteousness will be spiritually prosperous. Isn't this another characteristic of a christians life? We should be willing to endure persecution for the sake of righteousness. Now righteousness is defined as the characteristic of being right or just. I believe this verse is speaking about those who are willing to be persecuted because they are right and know it. Are you willing to go through persecution because of your beliefs? You might say that religious persecution will never happen in the United States. You would be wrong. If you will study history, in the early history of our country, people were persecuted for what they believed and taught. If it happened once, it can, and I believe will, happen again. Again, are you willing to endure the horrors of persecution for what you believe?
As we look now at verse 11, we see that Jesus changes tone just a little. In the previous 8 verses we have seen the words "Blessed are they" while here we see "Blessed are ye". It seems like Jesus is speaking to two different groups, so why the change? I believe that Jesus is speaking to the same group, but with a slight change. This change is that He is speaking directly to His church. See in the other verses He is giving the attributes of a child of God, that anyone might be able to fulfill, at one time or another, but now He is speaking directly to those who have decided to follow Him totally and completely, without any reservations. If we were to break this down into everyday English it would read "Spiritually prosperous are you who will endure lying (revile), persecution, and those who might say every evil thing about you, for My sake." Folks, people are going to lie and say every evil thing they can imagine to prevent the spread of the Gospel. They are even going to use persecution. In just the short time I have been in the ministry, I have had people lie about me, and some have even brought up things in my past to discredit me. I have even had one Baptist preacher, who has never talked to me about this, say that I wasn't really called to preach. He said that I just got excited. He has never even heard me preach or even talked to me about it face to face. This was right after I surrendered to the ministry. He tried to discredit me to others before I ever really got started. And I'll be honest. It hurt my feelings. Folks, people are going to lie about you, say all manner of evil things about you, to prevent you from witnessing to others about Jesus. You want to be spiritually prosperous? Then you will have to endure these things. Do you love the Lord enough to endure the things others will say about you? What is more important to you? Your love of the Lord, or your feelings?
In verse 12 we see why we should be willing to endure persecution and people saying all manner of evil things about us. Great is the reward in heaven of those who will endure these things. Jesus also said to rejoice and be exceedingly glad to face persecution. Now I know it is hard to rejoice and be glad during the times that others speak evil about us, or even do things that would cause us harm. But we are to do it. But why? How are we to rejoice during this time? First, we'll look at the why and then after that the how. Why should we rejoice in times of persecution? I firmly believe that it is to show the love of Jesus to those who are doing the persecuting. Brethren, we should show others that Jesus is more important to us than anything, even life itself. Think about it for a moment. If someone is speaking evil about you, and you show them the love of Jesus, wouldn't that be a witness unto them? Your stand for the Lord during these times might be the only time these people are witnessed to. Look at the example of Paul. He was there when they stoned Stephen and it is my belief that Stephen's testimony for the Lord was one of the things that led to his conversion. But how are we to endure this persecution? It is only through grace and the love of the Lord that we can. Folks, the grace to endure these things will be there when needed. Although I haven't endure physical persecution, I have experienced grace in the times of need. As I was preaching my way through Romans, I looked ahead and saw chapter 16, which if you remember was Paul's farewell address to several people. I started worrying about it, even though I knew it was the wrong thing to do. When I got to the 16th chapter, through the Lord's grace I was able to understand it, but not before. Folks, that is the way grace works. When we need it, God will provide it, but not until we need it. Looking now at the last part of verse 12 we see that others have endured persecution before us, so there is no need to worry about it. The prophets of old were persecuted for preaching, and we are no better than they were. Folks, if you are serving the Lord there will be persecution in your life. That is a fact. Do you love the Lord enough to endure persecution?
In conclusion we have looked at some more of the qualities of a christians life. We have seen that we should show mercy, be pure in heart, be peacemakers, and be willing to endure persecution. All these are signs to the world that we love the Lord. Do you love the Lord? Are these qualities in your life today?
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Bro. Freddie
4 Pointer
Missionary Baptist Minister
Posts: 184
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Post by Bro. Freddie on Apr 27, 2008 4:13:49 GMT -5
Matthew 5:13 (King James Version)
13. Ye are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
If you will recall, we have been looking at the Sermon on the Mount. The last 2 weeks we have looked at the part of it that men call the Beatitudes. We have seen the spiritual attributes that we should each have in our life. Today, we will be looking a little further in this sermon that Jesus preached and hopefully gain some insight into what the Scriptures teach.
The first thing I noticed is the word "ye". This signifies that Jesus was talking to a specific group of people. But exactly who was Jesus speaking to? It was His church! Folks, the Sermon on the Mount was the ordination sermon to the first church. Look at it this way. When Jesus called his disciples, it was the start of the first mission. Jesus is now preaching the ordination sermon which organizes His church and that church takes on all the responsibility of a church. I can't stress it enough. The church was NOT started on the Day of Pentecost like some teach. It was started when Jesus called His disciples on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. The Day of Pentecost was simply when Jesus empowered the church to continue because He wasn't physically there.
The next thing I noticed is the word "salt". Now we all know that salt is used as a seasoning in food. But it is also used as a preservative to keep food, used in the offerings at the Temple, as an additive to livestock feed, and a myriad of other uses. In fact, salt of lower quality was used to help dung decompose and as a manure to soil. This inferior salt was also stored at the Temple to place on slippery floors when they were wet. When a guest came over, it was customary to "eat salt" as a sign of peace between the two parties. Salt was also believed to have healing properties. So as you can see, salt was very important to daily life in those days.
One thing that I need to point out now is that Jesus used everyday things to teach His church. He used things that people would readily identify with and knew what He was talking about. Just like when we use an example. In this instance He used salt. In other places He used leaven, a light, a shepherd and so forth. In each of these instances there was both a physical and a spiritual application. Folks, we need to teach so that people will understand! I know some preachers that use big flowery speeches, big words that the people don't understand, among other things. Folks, Jesus preached simple messages that applied to the peoples lives and we need to do the same. He set the perfect example for us, and we should follow that example.
Ok, now back to salt. We have seen how salt was used in the everyday life of the people of Israel but now let's look at the spiritual meaning of what Jesus was saying. What exactly did He mean when He said that "Ye are the salt of the earth"? Remember, He was talking to saved people of His church. I believe that His meaning was very simple, yet complex. We are the seasoning of the world. Think about it a moment. Salt is used as a seasoning to make food taste better. Christians are a seasoning to make the world better. Doesn't that make sense? Let me go into a little more detail. If we, as Christians, apply the complete principals of the Beatitudes to our life, the world would be a better place to live. Now, I'm not saying that the world will get better and better. That is NOT what the Scriptures teach. But we should apply the things we have learned in the Beatitudes to show the people of the world how to live. If everyone, saved and lost alike, showed mercy, peace, meekness, were pure in heart, and were truly mournful, wouldn't the world be a better place to live? Brethren, just like salt makes food taste better, so should our life make the world a better place to live. Does it?
Also remember that salt was believed to have healing properties. I believe that Jesus was also referring to this aspect of salt when He called us the salt of the earth. What does the world need today more than anything? It needs the Saviour! Isn't it our job to present the Saviour of mankind to a lost and dying world around us? When a person accepts Jesus as their Saviour they are saved (or healed) for the ultimate penalty of sin which is death. Now there will still be the consequences of sin in their life, but the penalty is removed. Folks, we need to be out telling the world about Jesus and what He has done for us. Then Jesus can heal them from of the penalty of sin which is eternal separation from God. Are we telling others about Jesus?
Looking further now, we see Jesus committing on those who have lost their savour. Savour is an old English word which means tastefulness. Here it is used as a verb and primarily means to be foolish. Folks, this is NOT teaching that someone can lose their salvation! If you think it is, answer me this. Is salt still salt even after it has lost it's tastefulness? YES! And another. If you child does something despicable, say murder as an example, and you disown that child, aren't they still your child? YES! No matter what you do, you can not change the fact that your child is still your child. It is the same way with God! Once you are His child, you can never change that fact. So, if this is NOT teaching that a person can lose their salvation, what is it teaching? I believe it is teaching that those who are children of God, but are not following Him are foolish and have lost their usefulness as servants of the Lord. Just like salt. When salt loses it's usefulness and can no longer be used to season food or preserve food, what good is it? Brethren, we should always follow the Lord so that we will remain useful servants to and for Him. Are you? Are you a useful servant? Or are you being foolish by not serving Him?
Jesus next used the statement of "wherewith shall it be salted?" If we were to put this in modern English it would read more like "on what will the salt be sprinkled on?". Remember, we are talking about salt losing it's tastefulness. But it is still salt! In other words what the Lord is asking is what good is the salt that has lost the ability to season food? Jesus goes on to answer His own question which we will get into a little bit. But first, let's look at what the question He asked. Even though salt was used in a lot of different things, it was mainly used to season food. But if that salt has lost it's tastefulness what good is it to season food? Brethren, I believe that Jesus was using salt as an example of how we should conduct ourselves. Look at it this way. If we ruin our testimony for the Lord, what good are we to Him? What usefulness do we have to Jesus if we willfully live in such a way that brings shame upon Him? We would have none! Folks, we should live every day in such a way that would bring honor and glory upon the Lord. Do we?
As we continue, we see Jesus answering His question of what good is the salt if it has lost it's tastefulness. His answer was that it is good for nothing, except to be cast out, and trodden under the foot of man. We have already covered the part about it being good for nothing, so let's look at the next part about being cast out. Again, this is NOT teaching that someone can lose their salvation! But what is Jesus teaching? Remember, Jesus is using an everyday application of salt to teach us something. One use of salt that I mentioned before is the use of it in putting on the floors of the Temple when they were slippery. This is the example Jesus is using. If the salt has lost it's tastefulness, it is good for nothing other than to be put on the floor to keep people from slipping. If you stop and think about it, salt was one of the most valuable commodities in that time. And it was reduced to being put on the floor because that was all it was useful for! Brethren, we should never let our testimony for the Lord be such that all we are good for is to keep a floor dry. We should be useful to the Lord in more ways than being sprinkled on the floor.
Today we have seen Jesus use the example of salt and how we should be like this precious commodity. We have seen that we should serve the Lord like we were designed for, not to be useless except for one thing. How is our service to Him? Are we serving Him like we should? Are we useful to the Lord? Or are we good for nothing except the most menial tasks? Have we lost our usefulness?
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Bro. Freddie
4 Pointer
Missionary Baptist Minister
Posts: 184
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Post by Bro. Freddie on Apr 30, 2008 3:27:55 GMT -5
Matthew 5:14-16 (King James Version)
14. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. 15. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. 16. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
We have been looking at the Sermon on the Mount and will continue to do so for several more weeks. If you will recall, we have seen in the Beatitudes how we should conduct ourselves. We have also seen how Jesus compared His church to salt, a precious commodity in those days. Today, we are going to look at another aspect of life in those days, and how Jesus compared His church to that fact of life.
In verse 14 we see Jesus comparing His church to a light. In fact He calls it the light of the world. Let's look at that for a moment. We all know what light is. It is the opposite of darkness. We get light naturally from the sun and man-made light from both fire and electricity. Light is necessary for life. Without it, there would be no food because of no plant growth. So, we see light is very important to us. But why did Jesus compare His church to light? It is simple. Jesus is the Light! Jesus said later that He was the light of the world, and since He is the head of the church, shouldn't His church also be like a light? Think a moment if you will of a body, with Jesus being the head of that body. This body is made of many different parts, but all work together. While a body may function without a foot or arm, without the head it is dead. Jesus is the head of the church, not the pastor nor the deacons, but Jesus and Jesus alone. If Jesus is the light, and He said He was, shouldn't the church be like Him?
Another way to look at it is that the church should be the opposite of darkness. Again, Jesus said that He was the light, and He is the opposite of sin (darkness). We call ourselves Christians, which means that we are pictures of Christ. If Jesus said that He is the opposite of sin, shouldn't His church be the same? The church should be an example to others of how to live. We should live our lives in such a way that brings honor and glory unto the Head of the church. Do we?
We also see that Jesus said that a city on a hill cannot be hid. This is a very easy concept to understand, if you think about certain facts. A hill is a very tall place, and when a city was built upon it, it made the city easier to defend. But, since there were not a lot of trees on these hills, the city was also easier to see from a long ways off, especially at night when lamps or candles were shining. But why did Jesus compare his church to a city on a hill? I believe it is because just like a city, we cannot be hid to be effective for the Lord. If no one knows you are a child of God, how can you be an effective servant for Him? You can't! Folks, I have said time and time again that people are watching our life. And just like a city on a hill, you can't hide.
As we look now at verse 15 making another reference to the foolishness of man. Just like a city on a hill that can not be hid, neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but instead they put it on a candlestick so that all may have light. How foolish would it be to go to the trouble of lighting a candle for light, then to hide it under a basket? That is the height of stupidity. A person does not light a candle to hide it, but to give light. It's the same way in our life. Jesus didn't save you just so you could hide! He saved you because He loved you. And because He saved you, you should be a shining light to others about His mercy, love, and grace. How can you be a light unto the world if you are hiding?
And just like a candle, Jesus has put you on display for all the world to see. Why? So that others may see the Light which is Jesus Christ. And just like putting a candle on a candlestick (or holder) Jesus has put His children and His church on display for everyone to see.
In verse 16 Jesus gives us specific instructions. We are to let our light shine before men. We are to show the love, mercy, and grace that Jesus showed to us to others in the world. In short, we are to show the lost the effects of salvation in our life. We are NOT to hide the fact that we are saved, but instead show the world, just like a city that is on a hill at night that is lighted up. All the world can see this city, so should all the world be able to see the effects of salvation in our life. Why would we hide the fact that we are saved anyway? Is it that we are ashamed? What do you have to be ashamed of? Jesus gave HIS LIFE for you!
As we look further in this verse we see that Jesus even tells us why we should let our light shine before men. Let's look at these individually. First, it is so that men might see your good works. Remember, Jesus is talking to the saved here, so this is NOT works for salvation. This is works AFTER salvation! Folks, good works never saved anyone! Good works is only that. A good work, or a work of good quality. You can not do a quality work unless you have already been saved. An example of what I am talking about is a slave and master relationship. Does a slave do a good job for a master that is not his? In other words, does a slave do a good job for someone that he doesn't belong to? NO! The only reason a slave might do a good job for someone else is if his master loaned him out to that someone. And then the only reason he would do a quality job is to bring honor and glory to his master. If you have trusted in Jesus, then He is your Master. He expects you to do good works, but only after He becomes your Master. Is Jesus your Master today?
Looking at the last part of verse 16 we see the main reason why we should let our light shine before men. It is so that God will receive the praise. After salvation, people should see a change in you. In the way you treat others, in your attitude, your conduct, and other ways. When people see this change, they will realize that something has happened in your life and will want to know what has happened. When they see this change, they will glorify God. What better testimony can we have for Jesus other than the change that He has brought about in our life so that others may see Him.
We have seen today that we should be like a light at night, visible to all the world. Are we? Or do we try to hide from the fact that we are a child of God? Are we ashamed of the fact that we have trusted in Jesus as our Saviour? Why? He gave everything for you, why would there be any need to be ashamed? If you are not ashamed, then let your light shine before men, that all may give God the honor and glory, because He deserves it. If you are ashamed of salvation, then I urge you to go back to that time when you trusted the Lord. Make sure you have trusted in Him, and then let your light shine so that all may see.
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Bro. Freddie
4 Pointer
Missionary Baptist Minister
Posts: 184
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Post by Bro. Freddie on May 4, 2008 2:13:19 GMT -5
Matthew 5:17-20 (King James Version)
17. Think not that I am come to destroy the Law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. 18. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the Law, till all be fulfilled. 19. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20. For I say unto you, That except you righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter the kingdom of heaven.
We have been looking for the last several weeks at the Sermon on the Mount. We started with the Beatitudes and learned what characteristics we should have in our lives. We have also looked at 2 examples of everyday things that Jesus compared His Church and His children to. They were salt and light. Today we will continue our study of this wonderful sermon, and hopefully learn something that will help us in our everyday walk of life.
As we look first today at verse 17 we see that Jesus tells us part of His mission. It was to fulfill the Law. I am NOT saying that this was His only reason for coming to earth, but it was part of it. Let me try to explain. From the best I can understand, Biblical scholars have figured out that mankind was on the earth a little over 4,000 years before Jesus' coming. That is from Adam to Jesus. Now, there is some debate here on if that is accurate or not. I am not going to get into that. But, let's just say that they are right. During these 4,000 years, there were numerous prophecies concerning Jesus, numerous things pointing men to Jesus, and numerous prophets. The first prophecy we have concerning Jesus is found in Genesis 3:15 when God told the serpent, also known as Satan, that He would bruise Satan's head, while Satan would bruise His heel. The first picture we have is found a little later when God killed the innocent lamb to clothe Adam and Eve. The first prophet we have any record of is Enoch (Jude 14) who was the 7th from Adam. So you see that all down through the Bible there were prophecies concerning Jesus, pictures of Jesus, and prophets declaring Jesus. For Jesus to live the perfect life (without sin) He had to fulfill these prophecies. And He had to live a perfect life to be the Saviour of mankind.
Getting back to verse 17, Jesus said that He didn't come to destroy, but to fulfill. The word "destroy" is a verb here and means to cast down or overthrow completely. In other words, Jesus didn't come to earth to cast down the Law, but to fulfill it. The word "Law" is defined as that which is assigned. The Law was MORE than the 10 Commandments! Jesus is referring to the entire Scriptures up to that time! Folks, Jesus fulfilled every prophecy that was every spoken or written down concerning Him. He lived the perfect life.
Let's turn our attention now to verse 18, in which Jesus says that not one jot or tittle shall pass away till all be fulfilled. Now a "jot" is the smallest Hebrew letter and a "tittle" is a mark that shows the difference between two letters of the Hebrew alphabet. I heard a preacher once say that if you wanted to put this in modern day English, you could say till every I was dotted and every T crossed. It doesn't really matter how you want to say it, the meaning is the same. Until every minuscule part of the Scripture is fulfilled, it shall in no way pass away. Even if heaven (sky) and earth (land) were to pass away, till every part of the Scripture is fulfilled, it shall not pass away. Now, we know that there are some parts of Scripture, mainly prophecy concerning the end times, that are not fulfilled. Does this mean that we are still under the Law? NO! We are under grace because of what Jesus did for us on the cross at Calvary! So just what exactly does this mean? I believe that this means that Jesus was going to fulfill every prophecy concerning Him and His coming. And He was the ONLY one that could do it! Brethren, there are some that teach that the Old Testament is good for nothing other than history. They are wrong! There is prophecy still to be fulfilled (See Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and others). Until every prophecy is fulfilled, the Old Testament is still relevant. Folks, the Old Testament is God's Word, just like the New Testament. We should treat it with the same respect and reverence that we treat the New Testament with. I don't care if the sky and the land are destroyed, until the prophecies are fulfilled, they are still in effect.
In verse 19 we see a warning from Jesus to those who teach false doctrines. The word "break" here is a verb, which shows action, and is defined as to loosen, especially by way of deliverance, sometimes destructively. Think of a chain that is holding a prisoner or slave. When this chain is broken, it is not broken slowly, but with force to release the one it is holding. So we see Jesus saying that if anyone loosens (breaks) the least of any of the commandments, and teaches others that it is alright to do so, he shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven. Again, this is NOT talking about losing your salvation! This is talking about losing rewards in heaven! Some people might say, "Well, what is so bad about that? At least I'll be in heaven." That is not the attitude we should have! We should have the attitude of wanting to be close to the Lord and if you teach people that it is alright to break the commandments, you won't be. I want to be at the feet of my Saviour for all eternity, learning from Him. I don't want to be on the outside of New Jerusalem looking in. I want to be inside, close to my Lord and Saviour! I believe there will be people from every religion in heaven, except for a few, like Islam and Buddhists, but only those who teach the TRUE Gospel will be inside New Jerusalem. And those that teach that it is okay to ignore parts of the Bible, or even break the commandments of God, will be outside looking in. This is why study is so important. We need to study so that we will be sure we don't teach things that are false. Where do you want to be? Are you just satisfied with being in heaven? Or do you want to be in the presence of the Lord?
In verse 20 Jesus is giving another dire warning. He is telling His children and His church that unless their righteousness exceeds (surpasses) the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees then they will not enter into heaven. We have gone over the definition of "righteousness" before, but it never hurts to go over things again. Righteousness is best defined as being right in the eyes of God. So you can see that unless our being right in the eyes of God exceeds that of the scribes (Sadducee's) and the Pharisees, we will not enter into heaven. Now, before I go any further let me state this very clearly and plainly. THIS IS NOT TALKING ABOUT WORKS FOR SALVATION! THIS IS SPEAKING OF SALVATION! Remember, the Sadducee's and the Pharisees had a holier than thou attitude. They had the idea that if they had not actually followed through with the act of adultery, then they had kept that commandment. But Jesus told them that if they had looked upon a woman in lust they had committed adultery. In other words, they had a perverted sense of the Law. The Law was given to us by God to point us to Jesus. The Law was designed by God to show us that we are sinners and that we need a Saviour, which is Jesus Christ. In essence what Jesus is saying is that the scribes and Pharisees thought they were saved because of their own actions instead of trusting in the Lord. Folks, if you are like them, you will bust the gates of hell wide open. There is only One Name under heaven whereby men may be saved, and that Name is Jesus Christ. Good works won't get you to heaven, living a good life won't get you to heaven, only by trusting in Jesus will you ever see heaven. Have you trusted in Him today?
In conclusion, we have seen the relationship between Jesus and the Law and how He came to fulfill it. We have seen that Jesus was the only One who could have kept the Law in it's entirety. We have also seen that if a person breaks just one of God's commandments, that person is doomed to spend all eternity in hell. But, if you have trusted in Jesus, you will spend eternity in heaven. Have you trusted in Him? Have you given your life totally and completely unto Jesus? Or are you like the scribes and Pharisees who thought that because they lived a good life that God would not sentence them to hell? Folks, God doesn't send anyone to hell, that is your own choice. God just abides by your choice. So how have you chosen to spend eternity?
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Bro. Freddie
4 Pointer
Missionary Baptist Minister
Posts: 184
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Post by Bro. Freddie on May 7, 2008 3:46:07 GMT -5
Matthew 5:21-26 (King James Version)
21. Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: 22. But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say unto his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall sat, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. 23. Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; 24. Leave there thy gift before the alter, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, then come and offer thy gift. 25. Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. 26. Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.
As normal, a quick review before we get into our study for today. We have been looking at the Sermon on the Mount and have seen the relationship between Jesus and the law. We have seen how that Jesus came to fulfill the Law, and that any one that disobeys and teaches others to disobey will be outside of New Jerusalem looking in. On the other side of the coin though, anyone who obeys and and teaches others to do so, will be rewarded in heaven. Today, we are going to see Jesus go into more depth about the Law and it's true meaning.
In verse 21 we see Jesus teaching those who are listening to Him about the Law. The specific Law that He is teaching about is "Thou shalt not kill". It is one of the 10 Commandments and is found in Exodus 20:13. The word "kill" doesn't mean in warfare, but means murder. Too many people want to define this as meaning that we should not go to war, but in fact it means we should not commit murder, either premeditated or otherwise. Going to war, and killing someone, is NOT murder. It is warfare. There is a difference. It has never been God's plan for mankind to murder each other. God's plan was for His creation, meaning mankind, to live peaceably with each other. But that has never happened since Cain and Abel. You remember the story about Cain murdering Abel. Cain got jealous of Abel because Abel's sacrifice was accepted and his was not. So, Cain murdered Abel, thus the first murder. But, I want us to think on murder of a moment. Why do you suppose people murder? People can give you all sorts of reasons, but it all comes back to one fact. People don't put God first in their lives. Folks, if you put God first in your life, you won't be tempted to go out and actually commit murder. In the last part of verse 21 we see that Jesus says that those who commit murder will be subject to the judgment. This judgment Jesus is speaking of is the penalty of murder. In Exodus 21:12 we see the penalty for murder. If a man smite another so that he dies, he shall be put to death. Now, the Israelites way of putting someone to death was by stoning. And the rocks they used to stone someone was not little. They were about the size of your fist, or larger. It was a painful way to die. This is the judgment Jesus was speaking of. He is in fact reminding those who are there about the civil penalty for murder. This is NOT referring to someone losing their salvation.
In verse 22 Jesus again goes into more detail concerning the Law and what it really means. In the first part of this verse Jesus uses the logical indicator "but" which means that what follows it is opposite of what precedes it. And Jesus says that whoever is angry with his brother (anyone else) without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. This is directly opposite of what the Sadducees and Pharisees had been teaching. They had been teaching that as long as you didn't actually kill someone you were not in violation of God's Law. Folks, that is NOT the way God's Law was designed. If you look at it in the way it was designed you will see that if you are angry with anyone else with a good reason then you are guilty of murder. But how are we supposed to not get angry with someone? I struggle with this daily and with much thought and prayer I believe I know the answer. It is very simple. Love thy neighbor (everyone else other than you) as much as you love yourself. Folks, if you will love your neighbor as much as you love yourself there should not be any reason to be angry with them. Looking further in this verse we see that Jesus says whoever says unto someone else Raca (empty headed) shall be in danger of the council (Sanhedrin court). Now the Sanhedrin was a council made up of 70 men who were presided over by the high priest. This council consisted of former high priests, members of privileged families, elders of tribes, and so forth. It was sort of like our Supreme Court is today. This council later on condemned Jesus to death, so as you can see it was a powerful body. And Jesus says that whoever says that someone else is empty headed is in danger of their judgment. Again, this goes right back to loving your neighbor as yourself. Now I know that insulting someone in this day and age has become the norm and is an accepted practice and I'm just as guilty as the next. A lot of times we say that we are doing it out of love, but is it really? Or is it jealousy which can easily turn into hatred? Are we showing love to that person when we insult them? Or are we trying to bring them down? In the last part of this verse Jesus says that whoever calls someone else a fool is subject to hell fire. Now the actual word for hell here is "Gehenna" which was a valley close to Jerusalem where the Israelites offered their children in sacrifices to Molech in the times of the kings. But in Jesus' day it had become the garbage dump and had a fire burning at all times. It was a smoldering, stinking mess. The Israelites came to think of this as hell itself because it resembled to their minds what hell must be like. And Jesus says that whoever calls someone else a fool (or moron) shall be subject to judgment like this. Again, this is NOT someone losing their salvation. This is Jesus showing those who thought that they kept the Law and were going to heaven because of their good life were instead bound for hell. Folks, their is only one way to heaven and that is through the Lord Jesus Christ. Have you accepted Him as your personal Saviour today?
We next need to look at both verses 23 and 24. They are the same sentence, but the translators divided it up, but we will look at them together. In fact, I want us to look at each part of these verses them look at them as a whole. In the first part of verse 23 Jesus speaks of bringing a gift to the altar. Now, the altar He is talking about is the one in the Temple. Remember, Temple worship at that time was very important to the Jews. So Jesus is speaking of something that each and every Jew knew about, which was sacrificing at the Temple. The gift that he was speaking of was not the required sacrifices that they were to make but instead it was just that, a gift. It could have been grain or livestock, or just about anything. It was a freewill offering to God for the blessings that He had provided them with. It was from the heart. In today's society too many people want to just give what they have to, or nothing at all. Folks we should give more than our tithes. We should give above and beyond the amount that we have decided to give. In the last part of verse 23 and all of verse 24 Jesus says that if you remember that you brother has anything against you, leave your gift there, go and be reconciled with your brother, then present your gift. Jesus was saying that when they came to the altar that they should be in accord with their brother (everyone else). Folks we are told by Paul in Romans to live peaceably with all men. How can we do that if someone else has anything against us? We are to go to that one that has anything against us, real or or perceived, and make things right with them. God wants us to live peaceably with each other. Go, make things right with someone that has something against you, then bring your gift to the Lord. Now, I want us to look at this in context. Some might say that Jesus is switching subjects between here and the previous verses about breaking the Law. But He is not! It all ties in together. Look at it this way. If someone is angry with you (has something against you) that person has broken the Law, just like if they murdered you. It is our duty to go and make things right between us and them so that they will repent of this sin and come back to the Lord. We should never give someone a reason for not serving the Lord, whether it is real or perceived. If someone has something against you, make it right between you and them. You will be truly blessed if you do.
As before we need to look at verses 25 and 26 together. Like I said earlier, these are the same thought, but the King James translators divided them up into 2 separate verses. In verse 25 Jesus said to agree with thy adversary quickly. Now the adversary here is not Satan, although there are numerous times in the Scriptures Satan is mentioned this way. The adversary mentioned here is someone who has something against you, an enemy in other words. We should do everything in our power to make things right between us and others. No matter what the conflict is, we should do what is necessary to make it right between us. And we are to do it quickly, or in other words, as fast as possible. We don't have the time to spare to have our brother mad at us! We should settle these quarrels as fast as possible so that we can get back to doing what we are here to do, that is, telling others about Jesus. We see also in verse 25 that Jesus tells us why we should settle things with our enemies quickly. It was possible in those days for an enemy to deliver a person to the judge for judgment. This judgment might even have included restitution or jail time. If a person could not pay, there was definitely jail time. This officer that Jesus speaks of is the officer of the prison, or warden if you will. So we are to make things right between us and those who have something against us before we are brought before a judge. Now, we don't have debtor's prison, but we do have a system that people love to use to sue others. We are to make things right with our enemy so that we won't be brought before a judge. Folks, we don't have time for such foolishness! We are to present Jesus as the Messiah to a lost and dying world. If you are embattled in a lawsuit, do you have time to tell others about Jesus? NO! You are concentrating on that lawsuit! So make things right with your enemy before things go too far. In verse 26 Jesus said that if they went to prison they would not get out of prison until they had paid the last farthing (or coin). Again, they didn't have time to spend in prison paying a debt, just like we don't. We have too many people dying without Jesus to spend precious time in jail or in a frivolous lawsuit. So, make things right with someone who has something against you before it is too late.
In conclusion, we have seen how hatred is like murder and how someone who has something against you is akin to hatred. We have seen how we should do everything in our power to make things right between us and another. We have seen how hatred can bring about lawsuits or other things that we don't have time for. Does someone have something against you today? Make it right between you and them! We are told to reconcile! Let's be like Jesus and show His love to others by making peace with your enemies. It will bless you, and amaze them. Then you can tell them about how Jesus has changed your life. Has Jesus changed your life? Have you given your life to Him?
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