Bro. Freddie
4 Pointer
Missionary Baptist Minister
Posts: 184
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Post by Bro. Freddie on Aug 13, 2008 3:26:18 GMT -5
Matthew 8:18-22 (King James Version)
18. Now when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave commandment to depart unto the other side. 19. And a certain scribe came, and said unto Him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. 20. And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay His head. 21. And another of His disciples said unto Him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. 22. But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.
As usual, a short review is needed before we get into today’s topic. If you will recall, last time we looked at Jesus’ healing of Peter’s mother-in-law and others that were brought unto Him to fulfill the prophecy spoken by Isaiah. We saw how Jesus had authority over everything, including demons, because He cast them out by just speaking. Today, we are going to look at two other people, a scribe and a disciple, and see what we can learn from them.
In verse 18 we see that great multitudes were following Jesus. If you will remember, last time, we saw that Jesus was in Peter’s house, and fellowshipped with those that were with Him. But now, great multitudes were following Him. So this tells me that there has to be a time lapse of some sort. It could have been the next day, a couple of days later, we just don’t know. But there has to be a time lapse of some sort here. Also notice, Matthew says that there were great multitudes. We don’t know how big of a crowd it was that was following Jesus. But then again, it doesn’t really matter. All we need to know is that there was a large number of people following Him, and hearing His teachings. Also in verse 18, notice what Jesus did. He gave commandment to depart unto the other side. Before we go any further, we need to ask a few questions. Who did Jesus give commandment to? What was He talking about when He said to go to the other side? When Jesus gave commandment, or gave orders, to take Him to the other side, I believe He was speaking to the apostles. The core group of His church if you will. These men followed Jesus everywhere, eating what He ate, sleeping where He slept, doing what He did. So I believe that this was Jesus telling His apostles to take Him to the other side. The other side is referring to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. If you will remember from our previous studies, Peter’s house was in Capernaum which was on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. Wouldn’t that make sense?
Now that we have set the settings, let’s look at verse 19. In verse 19 we meet a certain scribe. The word “certain” here means particular. In other words, this was a specific scribe, not a whole group of them. A scribe was a man who was learned in the Law, a teacher in the synagogues, who often times was very desirous of honor. In fact, they demanded honor to be paid to them by their pupils. These men were interpreters of the Law and gave advice to the local courts concerning the Law. So as you can see, these men were often times had an inflated sense of value about themselves. Anyway, a certain scribe came to Jesus and made a statement. Now we don’t know who this man’s name was, where he was from, nothing, just that he was a scribe and came to Jesus. Before we look at his statement though, I want us to notice one thing. This man was in the multitude of people following Jesus. It is quite possible that he was in attendance when The Lord gave the Sermon on the Mount. If he was, he learned a great deal from the Lord that went against the things that he had probably been teaching. Remember, the scribes and Pharisees had a perverted sense of the Law. They thought that as long as you didn’t actually commit adultery, you weren’t guilty of this sin. But Jesus taught that if you even looked upon someone of the opposite sex with lust, you had committed adultery. So you see, this scribe learned the true meaning of the Law. Now, let’s look at his statement. He said “Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.” First, notice he used the word “Master”. This tells me that he knew Jesus was the King of Kings, and Master of everything. Folks, this man knew that Jesus was indeed the Son of God. He also said that he would follow Jesus wherever that Jesus went. Now, on the face of it, it looks like this scribe was really sincere, that he would go wherever the Lord went, but was he? Remember, scribes, as a whole, desired people to honor them. Was he actually wanting to follow Jesus, or was he seeking honor from other men? Was he really seeking to learn from the feet of the Master, or was he just looking for other men to look up to him?
In verse 20 we have Jesus’ response to this scribe. “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man hath not where to lay His head”. In other words what Jesus was saying is that while the animals had places to live, He didn’t have a place that He called home. Sure, Jesus could have called any number of places home, but He didn’t. He didn’t consider this world His home! His home was with God the Father. But why did Jesus answer the scribe this way? Why did He tell him that He had no home when the scribe wanted to follow Him? I believe that it came down to hardship. The scribe was used to living in a manner that would show others his status, thus bringing honor to him. But Jesus told him that He had no home, thus it would be hardship following Him. The scribe was used to living in a nice house, eating the choice foods, and having servants waiting on him. Jesus had none of this while here on this earth. So I think Jesus answered him in this manner to show him that it would be difficult to follow Him, and this scribe had to make a choice. Now, we don’t know what this scribe chose. It could have been that He followed Jesus as a disciple, (or learner if you will) or he could have chose to go to his home. We don’t know what he chose. But what is important is what have you chosen to do? Have you chosen to follow Jesus no matter what the hardships?
In verse 21 another one of Jesus followers (disciple) came to Him. Now before we go any further, I need to point one thing out. There is a difference between a disciple and an apostle. A disciple is defined as a learner, while an apostle was a messenger. Now, we don’t know if this was actually was one of Jesus’ apostles, who were called disciples, or a person who just followed Jesus and learned from His teachings. We just don’t know. I tend to think that this was just a disciple and not one of the twelve apostles. But I can’t state for certain that that is the case. Anyway, this learner came to Jesus and said “Lord, suffer me to go and bury my father”. First this I want us to notice is that this man used the word “Lord” when referring to Jesus. He KNEW beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus was Lord and Master over everything. There was no doubt in his mind whatsoever. Next, I want us to notice the word “suffer”. This word essentially means to allow. This man was asking Jesus’ permission to go and bury his father. Also, we need to notice that this man was probably heartbroken. There had been a death in his family and he was wanting to go and pay his respects to the man who in all likelihood had raised him. If this disciple was anything like a normal child growing up, then he looked up to his father and wanted to be like him in a lot of ways. So, I believe that this man was heartbroken, but he loved the Lord so much that he asked permission before he went to pay his respects to his father. How many of us would have done that? How many of us would have even asked before we just left?
In verse 22 we have Jesus’ response to this disciple. “Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead”. Now if a person just glanced at this, they might think that Jesus was being callous. There is nothing further from the truth! Why did Jesus tell this man to follow Him? Isn’t following the Lord the most important thing you can do in this life? YES! Folks, there is nothing, and I repeat, nothing, more important in this life than giving your life unto Jesus. You can make a decision to change jobs, buy a new house, or whatever, but the biggest decision you will ever make is if you will trust Jesus as your Saviour. Have you accepted Him as your personal Saviour today? Looking at the last part of verse 22, we see Jesus using a phrase that, if you don’t stop and think about it, could be confusing. “Let the dead bury their dead” is the phrase Jesus used. Did Jesus mean to let an actual dead person bury another that was dead? Yes and no. Most people when they look at this verse think of physical things, but Jesus was referring to spiritual things. If you look at the physical side of things you might think that there is no way that someone that is dead can bury another that is dead. And you would be right. But on the spiritual side of things, dead can bury the dead. Let me try and explain. See, Jesus was referring to those who had not accepted Him as Saviour as being dead, which they are. So when He said to let the dead bury their dead, he was in fact saying to let the spiritually dead bury the dead. Folks, if you have not accepted Jesus as your Saviour, you are spiritually dead. You will spend eternity separated from God, in eternal torment. But there is hope. That hope is in Jesus. Accept Him as your Saviour before it is eternally too late.
Today we have seen 2 different men. One wanted honor, and one wanted to go pay respects to his father. The first never asked permission to follow the Lord, in fact, all he wanted was the recognition. The second, loved the Lord, and asked His permission to go and bury his dad. Which one are you like? Do you claim to be a child of God just so that people will honor you? Or do you love the Lord so much that you will put everything else behind just to follow Him? Each man had a choice to make. They could either put the Lord first in their life, or they could serve worldly things. You have the same choice today. You can either choose to serve the Lord or you can choose to put other things before the Lord. What is your choice today?
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Bro. Freddie
4 Pointer
Missionary Baptist Minister
Posts: 184
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Post by Bro. Freddie on Aug 17, 2008 5:31:18 GMT -5
Matthew 8:23-27 (King James Version)
23. And when He was entered into a ship, His disciples followed Him. 24. And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but He was asleep. 25. And His disciples came to Him, and awoke Him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish. 26. And He saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then He arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. 27. But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him!
By way of introduction, we have been looking at the events that took place after the Sermon on the Mount. Now, we don't know how long after the Sermon these took place, and it doesn't really matter. But what does matter is that these events happened. Last time we saw the difference between two men. A scribe and a disciple. We saw how one wanted honor and one asked to go and bury his father. We noticed how Jesus answered these men and we also noticed how these affect our life today. Today, we are going to see the authority the Lord has over the elements and how it should strengthen our faith. So let's get started.
In verse 23 the first thing I noticed was the logical indicator "and". This tells me that what is happening immediately followed our previous lesson. In other words, there was no time lapse here whatsoever. The next thing I noticed was that Jesus entered into a ship. Now I don't know how big of a ship this was. It could have been a small vessel, like a fishing vessel. Or it could have been large enough that it was a cargo ship, meaning that it had a hold where cargo was stored, crew quarters and other things. We just don''t know. What we do know though is that Jesus entered (boarded) a ship and that His disciples followed Him. And there is a great lesson there for each one of us. His disciples were willing to follow Him anywhere. There is no record that Jesus told His disciples where they were going, so we don't know if He did or not. But the disciples willingly followed Him onto this ship and were willing to go where He went. Are we? If the Lord tells us to go somewhere are we willing to go? At this time I am looking for a church to pastor. It may be that the Lord has one in mind for me in a different state which would mean that I would have to move and take my family with me. I am willing to go wherever the Lord wants me to go. Would you be? Before you answer, think on all the things that this would entail. It would mean leaving all your friends and loved ones behind, meeting new people, maybe finding a new job, and a myriad of other things. Would you be willing to go where ever the Lord wants you to go like these men were?
In verse 24 we are told that a great tempest arose in the sea. The sea that Matthew is referring to here is the Sea of Galilee. This sea is also referred to in the Scriptures as the Sea of Chinnereth, the Lake of Gennesareth, and the Sea of Tiberias. This body of water is about 60 miles from Jerusalem and is from 80 to 160 feet deep with an abundance of fish. It's water's are blue and sweet with 9 different cities on it's banks, all with at least 15,000 people. It is about 12.5 miles long and 7.5 miles wide. So as you can see, this body of water, was not very deep and not very big, but very important to the people of the region. Anyway, a great tempest arose on this sea. Now the Greek word that Matthew used here that is translated "tempest" is seismos, which literally means a shaking. We get our word seismic from this word. All my life I have heard that this was a storm like a hurricane, but as I sat and thought on this, I came to realize that that is just not right. This storm was not a hurricane like storm, but was a earthquake related storm. I'm no geologist, so I called a pastor brother of mine, Bro. Tom McElmurry, and talked to him about this since he is a geologist and also a meteorologist. What I found out was very interesting. There are 2 fault lines running under the Sea of Galilee. And since the Sea of Galilee isn't very deep, if an earthquake had happened along either of these fault lines, there would have been large waves, one right after the other. Also if there had been a earthquake, there would possibly have been a landslide, which would have produced more big waves. So, taken with all the information we have, this was an earthquake related storm, not a hurricane-like storm. Looking further in verse 24 we see that the ship that Jesus and His disciples were on was in danger of being sunk. The waves were so big that they were washing over the sides of this small craft. Now, most of you know that I served 4 years in the U.S. Navy. I have been to sea, but on a very large ship, an aircraft carrier, so I have never really had to deal with a ship rocking back and forth like this small vessel was. But I can imagine the ship rocking with the waves, some of the water coming over the sides, and the pounding this small ship was taking. Folks, there was real danger here. The disciples were in very real danger of the ship capsizing and them having to swim for it. And since we don't know how far out to sea they were, it could have been a long swim. In the last part of verse 24 we see where Jesus was. He was asleep. Why is that important? There are some people that teach that Jesus while God, was not a man. He was just God. Folks, Jesus is all God, but He was also all man. Let me try to explain. While Jesus was God, he was also human. He was in fact God in human flesh. And being in human flesh, He had to rest His body. He had to eat, sleep, and take care of other bodily functions just like we do. Folks, Jesus was God, but He was also man. So if someone tries to teach you this falsehood, you can refer back to this verse and teach them the truth.
In verse 25 we see the disciples reaction to the waves rocking the boat. They woke up Jesus. They said "Lord, save us: we perish." There are some very important lessons we can learn just from this simple verse. First, the disciples were scared. If I was there with them, I would have been too. Their boat was about to be capsized, and they were a good distance from land. Ask yourself this question. If you were in a boat, and it capsized about a mile from the nearest land, would you be able to swim that far in rough seas? Not me. I would have drowned because, even though I can swim, I would have never made it that far. And I think the disciples were the same way. So as you can see, they were actually scared for their lives. They turned to the only ONE who could help them. Jesus. When they had tried everything they turned to the Lord. Isn't that how we are? A lot of the time we only turn to the Lord when we have exhausted every other avenue. Folks, the first thing we should do is go to the Lord, not as the last hope. Another thing I want us to look at is what the disciples said. "Lord, save us: we perish." Folks, this is a picture of a person coming to the Lord for salvation. There is only One Name under heaven whereby men may be saved, and that name is Jesus. Now, I am NOT saying that the disciples were lost. They were not. They were saved men. But this paints a picture of salvation because, without salvation, you will perish for all eternity. Have you came to Jesus and asked Him to save you?
In verse 26 we see Jesus' response. "Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?" Jesus asked the disciples a question that was designed to make them think about this after it was all over. Why were the disciples afraid? There was no need to be. They had the Master of the entire universe with them. But the disciples were just like you and me. When a crisis arose in their life, they got scared. But is there any need to be? If the Lord is your Saviour, is there any need to be scared of anything? What is the worse that could happen? You could die, but would that be so bad? Sure, you would be gone from your family, but you would be with the Lord. So why do we get scared in times of trouble? Notice also that Jesus said that they were of little faith. It is my firm belief that Jesus caused this storm to happen to increase the disciples faith. Often in our life there will be times when something happens that there is no where else to turn to but to the Lord. I know it has happened in mine. And if you will be honest, it has happened in yours too. When these trials come upon us, and we trust in the Lord to get us through them, our faith in Him is increased. And that is a real blessing. Has Jesus increased your faith? In the latter part of verse 26 Matthew tells us that Jesus got up, rebuked the wind and the sea, and there was a great calm. What a miracle! Jesus just said to the winds and the waves to be still, and they were. What a demonstration of the power that the Lord has over everything. If Jesus has the power to just speak and the winds and the waves were stilled, don't you think He would have to power to save you also in times of trouble? He can, if you will only turn to Him.
Looking now at verse 27 we see that the disciples were amazed (marvelled) that the elements obeyed the Lord. Now you have to keep in mind that most of the disciples were men of the sea. They made their livelihood from this sea. And all the times that they had been fishing on this sea, they were subject to the elements. But Jesus just spoke, and these same elements that they had been subject to, were instead subject to Jesus. I think the disciples were amazed because they had never seen anyone like Jesus. Sure, I believe they knew He was God in human flesh, but this was just more proof to that fact. And if you will honestly admit it, if you had been there, you would have been amazed too.
Today, we have seen another great miracle that the Lord preformed. We have seen how the disciples went out on a boat, an earthquake occurred, but in the end they trusted the Lord to deliver them. Have you trusted in the Lord to deliver you? Have you asked Him to save you? He died the most cruel death ever devised by mankind to pay for your sins. Have you trusted in Him?
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Bro. Freddie
4 Pointer
Missionary Baptist Minister
Posts: 184
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Post by Bro. Freddie on Aug 20, 2008 18:16:32 GMT -5
Matthew 8:28-34 (King James Version)
28. And when he was come into the other side into the country of the Gergesenes', there met Him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no man might pass by that way. 29. And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time? 30. And there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine feeding. 31. So the devils besought Him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine. 32. And He said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters. 33. And they that kept them fled, and went their ways into the city, and told every thing, and what was befallen to the possessed of the devils. 34. And, behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw Him, they besought Him that He would depart out of their coasts.
If you will recall, last time we looked at the miracle of Jesus calming the wind and the sea. Jesus had boarded a boat, and set off for the other side of the Sea of Galilee and an earthquake occurred which caused the sea to have big waves. Jesus calmed the seas, thus improving the disciples faith, and the disciples were amazed. Today, we are going to see what happened when Jesus reached the other side and learn how we can better serve the Lord.
In verse 28, we see that Jesus and the disciples had made landfall. They had crossed over the Sea of Galilee and had come to the country of the Gergesenes'. As I done a little research about this place, I found out that this is one of the places in the Bible that the King James translators mistranslated. This is actually the country of Gadara, which was the capital of the Roman province Perara. This city was east of the Jordan river, about 6 miles from the Sea of Galilee, and opposite from Tiberias. Today, the modern village of Um-Keis sits there. That is about all that I could find out. But does it really matter? I don't think so. What really matters is the miracle we are about to witness the Lord perform. Before we go any further, I need to point out that this story is also found in Mark 5:1-17 and Luke 8:26-39. In Mark and Luke's account of this miracle they said that there was just one man, while here in Matthew we read that there were two. Why were these Gospels different? I don't really know. That is something that I will have to ask someone that is smarter than I am. But is it really important how many there were? NO! What is important is the miracle that Jesus is about to perform. It doesn't matter if there was 1, 100, or 1,000. For the purpose of this study, I will use the plural version. Getting back to our study, we see two men coming out to meet Jesus that were possessed by devils. Now I don't know a lot about demon possession, all I know is what the Bible says about it. In Matthew all it tells us is that they were exceedingly fierce. In Mark it says that they were bound with fetters (ropes) and chains, but had broken them, so they had to be exceedingly strong. Also they were wild men, because no man could tame them. They cried in the mountains and in the tombs, and cut themselves with sharp rocks. This tells me that they were impervious to pain. In Luke's version, he tells us that they were naked. So we see that they had no morality. So looking at all three versions we can see that these demons gave supernatural strength to their victims, they were wild, they caused their victims pain at times, while at other times they did not feel pain, and their victims had no sense of decency. All in all, a sad state of affairs. Also, all three versions mention that these men lived among the tombs. Think about that for a moment if you will. They had been driven out from their homes, away from their families, and had to live among the dead. When you look at everything, these men did not have a very good life. In fact, I would say it was downright horrible. One other thought. We have seen how these men lived, so why would people glorify demons today? We have Satanic worshipers in the word today. Why glorify something that is going to cause you pain and suffering?
In verse 29 notice what those possessed with the demons said. "What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? Art thou come hither to torment us before the time?" I want us to notice two different things here. First, these demons KNEW who Jesus was. They didn't have to be told, they knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus was in fact the Son of God. How did they know this? To answer that, we need a little history. When Satan rebelled against God before time began, he was cast down. When he was cast down, he took a third of the angels with him. These angels that were cast down with Satan are what we call demons, or devils, today. It is my belief, and I believe I can support it with Scripture, that Jesus was there the day Satan rebelled. He was not in His earthly body, but He was there nonetheless. So these demons knew Jesus was the Son of God because He was there. Do you know who Jesus is? Secondly, these demons KNOW what is going to befall them in the end time. When they used the phrase "before the time" this refers to the time of the final judgment when they will be cast, along with their master Satan, into the lake of fire and brimstone. Folks, if even the demons know what is going to happen to them, according to the Scriptures, doesn't that mean also that what the Scriptures say about the final judgment ring true? Do you know where you will spend all eternity?
Looking now at verses 30 and 31, we see that there was a herd of swine, or pigs, feeding a good way off from them. I think this town was mostly a Jewish town, but I'm not sure. And if you will remember, the Jews were forbidden to eat pork because it was against the Law. And I think these pigs were owned by the community. So why were these pigs there if the Jews were forbidden to eat them? I believe that after reading the rest of the Scripture text, that these people were not following the Law, in fact they were doing what they wanted to do. In other words, they were living a life of sin. Now, don't get me wrong! The Law has never saved anyone. It was designed to point men to Jesus. But these people were living in defiance of the Law and thus painting a picture of living in sin. Notice what the demons did in verse 31. They ASKED the Lord's permission to enter these pigs. Folks, they KNEW who was the Master. They KNEW who had all power and authority in the universe. Do you?
In verse 32 we see Jesus giving a simple answer. "Go". That's it. He could have said more, but He demonstrated His awesome power over everything by one simple word. And you know what? These demons obeyed Him! When the Lord speaks, do you obey Him? Now I believe that the Lord doesn't speak to us today in an audible voice. He speaks to us through His Word, the Bible. Do you obey His Word? Looking further in verse 32 we see that the demons came out, entered the pigs, and destroyed these animals. What can we learn from this? It is simple. These demons didn't change their nature. They still were bent on destroying what they inhabited. When you hear the word of God preached, does it change your life? If not, why not?
In verse 33 we see that those who were watching over the pigs ran into the city and told everyone what had happened. They didn't come and worship the Lord. They ran away! What a sad commentary. They had an opportunity to worship the Lord after seeing a great miracle but instead chose to flee. We should worship the Lord every chance we get. These men ignored that chance. Do you?
In verse 34 we see a sad situation. The people came out to meet Jesus but instead of worshiping Him, and thanking Him for ridding these men of the demons, they asked Him to leave. These people didn't want anything to do with Jesus. They had the God of the universe standing before them and they asked Him to leave. This is a classic picture of people rejecting Jesus as Lord. When you are convicted of your sins, do you ignore the Lord, and ask Him to leave?
Today we have seen a story that is familiar to anyone that has spent even a little time in church. We have seen the awesome power of God demonstrated, and we have seen the reaction of the people. My question to you today is simple. What is your reaction to Jesus? Are you like these people who rejected Jesus? Have you ever accepted Jesus as your personal Saviour? If not, I urge you to do so today. Jesus said, "Behold I stand at the door and knock." He is wanting to enter into your life today. Won't you accept Him?
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Bro. Freddie
4 Pointer
Missionary Baptist Minister
Posts: 184
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Post by Bro. Freddie on Aug 24, 2008 3:44:46 GMT -5
Matthew 9:1-8 (King James Version)
1. And He entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into His own city. 2. And, behold, they brought to Him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer: thy sins be forgiven thee. 3. And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth. 4. And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? 5. For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk? 6. But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith He to the sick of the palsy) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thy house. 7. And he arose, and departed to his house. 8. But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men.
If you will recall, last time we saw how Jesus had sailed in a ship unto the county of the Gergesenes where He cast out demons out of either 1 or 2 men. We saw how these demons, whose very nature is destruction, asked the Lord if He would let them enter into a herd of swine. Jesus allowed this, and these demon destroyed this herd of swine by causing them to run off a cliff and drown. The townsfolk were not grateful to the Lord, probably because these demons had destroyed a lucrative business, and asked Jesus to leave. This is where we pick up our narrative today. I pray that you learn as much as I did as I studied this.
In verse 1 we see that after the townsfolk asked Jesus to leave, He boarded a ship. Now there is no way of knowing if this was the same ship or not that went through the earthquake generated waves that we looked at in Matthew 8. And it doesn’t matter. What matters is that Jesus entered into this ship and passed over, and came into His own city. There are 3 things I want us to notice about this one simple verse. (1). Jesus entered a ship. Now you may think that this is not important, but it is. Remember how the people asked Jesus to leave after He cast out the demons? Jesus could have stayed if He has so desired but He didn’t. He done what the people asked and left! This tells me that Jesus (God in human flesh) abides by our choices. And since God never changes, He still does today. He will abide by your choice on whether or not you want to accept Him as your Saviour. He will abide by your choice for all eternity. And since He doesn’t force His will on anyone, you have to choose. What have you chosen? Have you chosen to spend eternity with Him or without Him? (2). Jesus passed over. This is an Old English way of saying that after Jesus entered into the ship, they sailed back across the Sea of Galilee. Did anything happen on their way back to Capernaum? NO! Folks, Jesus had calmed the waves, and the winds, in His previous journey across this inland sea, and there was smooth sailing this time. There were no aftershocks! Now I am no geologist, but I have noticed that after every large earthquake there are aftershocks. Since there were none recorded here, that tells me that when Jesus calmed the sea, He also calmed the earth, thus eliminating the aftershocks. (3). Jesus came into His own city. This city mentioned here is Capernaum (city of Nahum) and it was Jesus’ base of operations if you will. In other words, Jesus went home. Now this probably speaks more to me as a preacher than it does to you, but it can also apply to your life if you will let it. I’m going to have to use an example here so please bear with me. Think of Jesus as a preacher. He preached unto the people and they rejected Him, so He went home. When I resigned Maple Springs Baptist church, I found out that they had in fact rejected me, thus rejecting the word of God. I did what preachers do in this instance. I went back to my home church. This verse teaches me that when the people reject the word of God, we are to go home. There is no use in hanging around because you will only make the situation worse. But how does this effect everyone that isn’t a preacher? Simple. When you are out witnessing, and people reject the word of God, go home, and pray about it. Don’t quit, but instead go home, pray about it, and see what the Lord would have you to do. In verse 2 we see that they brought unto Jesus a man that was sick with the palsy. If you will remember, we have learned in chapter 8 that palsy was the Old English way of saying paralyzed. We learned that usually this is caused by a work related injury to the spinal column, or a disease. One of the diseases was curable while others were not. I believe that this man that they brought to Jesus was incurable by the medical standards of that day. In fact, I believe that they knew Jesus was this man’s only hope. I found it interesting that Matthew used the phrase “and Jesus seeing their faith.” First thing that I need to point out here is who Matthew is referring to. I believe that Matthew is referring to the friends that brought the paralyzed man to Jesus. See, the bed that this man was brought upon to Jesus was sort of like a litter or stretcher. It took 2 to 4 men to carry another in this manner and I believe that these men are the ones Matthew referred to here. Another thing I think that I need to point out is that Jesus didn’t actually see their faith. Faith is something that can not be seen, but the effects of faith can. I believe that this is what Matthew is referring to here. The effects of these men’s faith. These men knew that Jesus was this man’s only hope, so they brought him to Jesus, which showed that they had faith in the Lord. In essence Jesus saw their faith in action, not their actual faith. Looking further in verse 2 I want us to notice what Jesus said. “Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.” In other words, Jesus told this man to be happy because He had forgiven him of his sins. I believe this man knew Jesus as his personal Saviour at this very moment, and perked right up. Think about it. If you had been paralyzed for any length of time, you would be depressed, thinking that you would never be able to walk again. I think this man was depressed, having all but given up hope, and then Jesus saved him. Glory Hallelujah! The God of the universe had just saved a man and given him hope for the future. Isn’t that salvation? Another thing I want to point out here is that the Lord doesn’t want His children to go around with a sad face. You’ve seen the type I’m sure. Those who profess Jesus as their Saviour yet they look like someone has just shot their dog, their best friend has died, and they have been eating green persimmons all at the same time. Jesus doesn’t want us to be that way! We should show the world that we have a Saviour who has given us a hope or a longing for the future.
In verse 3 Matthew records that certain scribes said within themselves that Jesus blasphemed. Now remember, this wasn’t very long after the Sermon on the Mount, so there was still a large crowd following Jesus’ every move on this side of the Sea of Galilee. And it stands to reason that there were a number of scribes in amongst the crowd. Now Matthew doesn’t say how many scribes, just that a certain number of them said that Jesus blasphemed. So this tells me that some thought this while others didn’t. I had thought all my life that ALL the scribes were against Jesus, but the more I study the more I have come to realize that that simply isn’t true. It was just some of the scribes, not all of them. We have discussed what a scribe was, but it never hurts to go over it again. A scribe was a man who was learned in the Law, it’s application, and who gave advice to the rulers (Sanhedrin Court) concerning the Law. The were proud, demanding that honor be given to them, especially from their students. If I had to equate a scribe with a occupation of today, I would say that a scribe was a lot like a lawyer, but with more authority. Anyway, some of these men had a thought within themselves. They thought, in their mind, that Jesus blasphemed. This thought, while evil, wasn’t spoken aloud, but instead was in their heart. Now before we get too down on these men, each of us needs to realize that we too have had evil thoughts in our heart. And I’ll go as far as to say that it was against another person. Were they right to think this thought? NO! Does it make it right that we too have thought evil about another? NO! Sure we can condemn these men for thinking this, but we have to realize that we have done the same thing. I want us to look at what some of these scribes thought at this time. They thought that Jesus blasphemed. Now the word “blasphemeth” is defined as speaking contemptuously of God or of sacred things. When Jesus said “Thy sins be forgiven thee” these scribes thought in their heart that Jesus was speaking contemptuously of God, because only God can forgive sins. To put it another way, these men thought that Jesus, being only a man, was placing Himself in God’s position. And you know what? Jesus was! But He was more than just a man! He was God in human flesh! These scribes didn’t realize that Jesus was God. Aren’t we like them in a way though? We look upon the 10 Commandments as “This is what God said”, but we don’t do what Jesus commanded, which is the same thing. What do I mean? If Jesus said it, it is the same thing as if God said it. We should look upon what Jesus (God the Son) said, just like if God (God the Father) said it.
In verse 4 Matthew tells us what Jesus did. First, He knew their thoughts. Jesus didn’t have to guess what their thoughts were. He knew exactly what they were thinking. They were like an open book unto Him. Only God can know our thoughts exactly. My wife and I have been together over 20 years, and I can look at her and tell what she is thinking, sometimes. But not all the time. God knows our thoughts all the time. This is just another proof that Jesus was indeed God in human flesh. Secondly, Jesus spoke. He said “Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?” In other words, Jesus asked them why they were thinking evil thoughts about Him. Can you imagine the shock on these scribes faces? Their deepest thoughts were made known. I know it would be a shock to me if someone were able to tell me exactly what I was thinking. There are times I don’t want anyone to know what I am thinking. And if you will admit it, you are the same way. God knows our thoughts every second of every day, so we should only think things that we would want the Lord to know. Do we?
In verse 5 Jesus asks the scribes a simple question. “For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk?” Now I can not speak Aramaic, which is the language Jesus spoke while here on earth. But I figure that saying “Thy sins be forgiven” is easier to say than “Arise, and walk”. Was Jesus being lazy? NO! He was just abiding by what He stated earlier in Matthew 5:37. There He stated that we should let our communication be yes, yes, or no, no. In other words, keep it simple so that no one is confused. Jesus was keeping it simple! But these scribes chose to misunderstand Him. That is the way it is today too. A lot of people choose to misunderstand the Scriptures when what the Lord wants is clearly spelled out. Do we intentionally try to misunderstand the Scriptures so that we can believe what we want to believe?
As we look now at verse 6 I want us to notice the first phrase that Jesus said. “But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins.” The “ye” that He is referring to here is the scribes who were doubting Him. But it is also for our benefit too. It is so that we too will also know that Jesus is God. I found it interesting that the word “power” here is the exact same word translated authority in Matthew 8:9 and other places. Remember our study of the centurion? He had authority (power) over men’s lives. This is the exact same word, just translated differently. So what Jesus is saying is that he is going to prove to the scribes that He was God in human flesh by forgiving this paralyzed man of his sins. And He could do this because He had the power (authority) to do so. Folks, I can’t stress this enough. Just as God has all the power (authority) to do as He pleases in the entire universe, so does Jesus. Why does He have this power (authority)? Because He created everything, and the Creator can do with what He pleases with His creation! So if Jesus wanted to forgive this man of his sins, He could. In the latter part of verse 6, Jesus turns to the paralyzed man and says, “Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thy house.” If we were to put this in Modern English we would say that Jesus told the paralyzed man to get up, take his litter, and go home. Folks, right here, Jesus healed this man of his paralysis. I believe He saved him in verse 2, but right here He healed him. Now don’t get me wrong. He could have healed him in verse 2 at the same time He saved him. I just think that Jesus put off healing this man for a few seconds so that he could prove a point to the scribes that were doubting Him. And He did! Glory Hallelujah! Jesus proved beyond a shadow of a doubt to the scribes that He was indeed the Son of God. Has Jesus proved to you today beyond a shadow of a doubt that He is indeed the Son of God?
In verse 7 we see the actual results of Jesus proof to these scribes. The paralyzed man got up off his litter, picked it up, and went home. Once again, Jesus has healed a person that was beyond help. I found it interesting in this verse though that Matthew doesn’t mention that this man stopped and worshipped the Lord. It is quite possible that this man didn’t stop, but instead done what Jesus told him to do. But I think he did stop and worship Him. Why do I think that? I have nothing to go on but my personal experience, but when I was saved, I wanted to worship Him. So even though Matthew doesn’t record it, I believe that this man worshipped the Lord before he went home. Now, we have no idea how long this man was paralyzed, or anything else about him. But it stands to reason that he had a family of some sorts. He could have been married, with children, or even single and still living with his parents. We don’t know. But think a moment if you will about what happened when he got home. I can imagine that when he walked into his house, if he was married, he gave quite a shock to his wife. She had seen him leave home paralyzed but come back healed. This man was able to testify to all that knew him that Jesus was the Son of God and had all the power (authority) to do as He pleased. What a testimony this man had for the Lord! Folks, we should have the same testimony. It might not be that Jesus healed us from paralysis, but if you are saved, it is that He has saved you from the effects of sin, which is eternal separation from God. There should be a change in our life just like was seen in this man. Is there? Can others see that Jesus has saved you? What is your testimony for the Lord?
In verse 8 Matthew says that the crowd marvelled (was amazed) and gave God the glory for giving such power to men. When the people who were there saw this miracle, they praised God. They were amazed that a man had the power to do this miracle. I want us to look at one thing in this verse. That is the fact that the crowd saw a MAN perform a miracle. They didn’t see the Son of God, instead, they saw a man. They didn’t realize that Jesus was indeed the Son of God. Isn’t that the way it is today also? People might sit in a church service, hear the word of God preached, yet not make a commitment unto the Lord because they don’t realize that Jesus is the Son of God. Have you seen that Jesus is the Son of God today? Do you praise the Lord for what He has done in your life?
In conclusion, we have seen the Lord perform another miracle, prove to the doubters that He was the Son of God and had all the authority to do as He pleased, and the crowds reaction. What is your reaction to the Son of the living God? Has Jesus proved to you that He is who He says He is? Have you trusted in Him? Is your testimony like the paralyzed man? Again, what is your reaction to the Son of God?
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Bro. Freddie
4 Pointer
Missionary Baptist Minister
Posts: 184
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Post by Bro. Freddie on Aug 27, 2008 3:26:45 GMT -5
Matthew 9:9 (King James Version)
9. And as Jesus passed forth from thence, He saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and He saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed Him.
By way of introduction, if you will recall, last time we looked at Jesus healing the man who was paralyzed. We also saw how Jesus proved to the Scribes, who were doubting that He was the Son of God, that He was indeed the Son of God and had all the power (authority) to do as He pleased. Today, we are going to look at the call of Matthew, and see what the Lord would have us to learn from this.
Before we get started, this same story is recorded in Mark 2:14-17 and in Luke 5:27-32. It might be helpful to read these Scriptures too as we study this.
In verse 9, Matthew says "And as Jesus passed forth from thence". Remember, the King James Version of the Bible was translated in Old English, and a lot of the phrases used back then are not used today. In other words, the English language has changed over the centuries. This phrase is was just the way of saying back in those days that Jesus left one place and went to another. What place did He leave? Where He healed the paralyzed man! So we see that Jesus left there and traveled somewhere. Now I am not sure where Jesus is going, but along the way, He met a man. This man was sitting in the receipt of custom and was named Matthew. The receipt of custom was the place that the tax gather sat to gather taxes. So from what we have learned so far, we can deduce that Matthew was a tax collector. The Roman tax at the time was very cruel, relentless, and utterly regardless. There were two major taxes, poll tax (income) and ground tax. The poll tax was essentially 1% of everyone's income. You might not think that is bad, but let's look at the other taxes. 5% of all wine and 10% of all grain was to be paid as taxes, along with a bridge tax, road, taxes, taxes on all that was imported and exported, along with several others. So as you can see, the Romans, who ruled Israel at this time, had a very oppressive tax system. Now from what I can gather, Matthew was sitting along side a road, so He was either gathering a road tax, or a bridge tax, or possibly both.
A little about tax collectors before we go any further. Tax collectors were notoriously crooked. They were paid a percentage of what they took in. In other words, the more they took in, the more they made. And some were even embezzling on top of that. So while it could be very profitable to be a tax collector, it was also a very crooked occupation. Was Matthew this way? I think at one time he was, but when he was saved, I think he changed. I have no Scripture to back that up, just my personal thoughts.
Now that we have a little background, let's get back to our verse. Jesus, seeing Matthew sitting in the tax collector booth, said unto him "Follow me". A simple call, yet one that is so profound. Isn't this call almost exactly like the one He used on Peter, James, John, and Andrew? He said to them "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men"(Matthew 4:19). I believe that Jesus called Matthew in the same way He called the other disciples, except for the "fishers of men" part. Why? Because Matthew wasn't a fisherman! He was a tax collector! Jesus called him in a way that he could understand! Folks, it is the same way today. Jesus doesn't save one person in one way and another in a totally different way. Everyone is saved the same way, by grace through faith.
Another thing I need to point out here is that this was not Matthew's call to salvation, but instead it was his call to service. I believe that Matthew was saved prior to this encounter, and this was Jesus calling him to a greater service for Him. What was this service? It was to be a disciple now, an apostle later, and a author of one of the books of the Bible later on. Let me try and explain. Matthew was called to be a disciple first. Remember, a disciple is defined as a follower. He was to follow Jesus and learn from the feet of the Master. Later, after a maturing process, Matthew became an apostle. Think about that for a moment. There were a lot of people who followed Jesus, and these could be called disciples, but only 14 men ever held the office of apostle. These men were the foundation of the Lord's church, and were to carry the Gospel to the world.
Matthew was also blessed to be one of the men who was allowed to write one of the books of the Bible. Think on that for a moment if you will. There are 27 books in the New Testament. These 27 books were written by 8 different men. That's all. They were Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, Peter, James, and Jude. Can you imagine the blessing that it must have been for Matthew to be allowed to write one of the Gospels?
Something else I need to point out here. These blessing that Matthew received were not instantaneous. When Matthew answered the call from the Lord he didn't know that he would be blessed in by being an apostle or an author of one of the Gospels. Folks, it is the same way in our life today. The Lord blesses us as we serve Him, not before. I've said time and again. We are modeled after the Father. Would you reward your child for doing something you told him to do before he does it? NO! You wait until after they do what you tell them to do to reward them. Matthew was the same way! He was rewarded by the Lord after he answered the call to service.
I want us to take a moment now and think about something. It is Matthew's relationship to the people. Remember, Matthew was a tax collector. And just like today, people back in those days despised taxes and the collectors of those taxes. They looked upon Matthew and the other tax collectors as representative's of the Roman occupation which they hated. I'm sure Matthew knew this, but he still followed the Lord anyway. We should be the same way! We should be willing to follow the Lord no matter what. Are we?
Today we have seen the call of Matthew to follow the Lord. We have seen how Matthew was blessed later in life for his service after he answered the call. Jesus is still calling people today. It is NOT for apostleship, or to write another book of the Bible, but instead it is to greater service. Have you answered the call? But before you can answer the call to greater service, first you have to answer the call to salvation. Have you trusted in the Lord? Is He calling you to follow Him?
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Bro. Freddie
4 Pointer
Missionary Baptist Minister
Posts: 184
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Post by Bro. Freddie on Aug 31, 2008 3:45:05 GMT -5
Matthew 9:10-13 (King James Version)
10. And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. 11. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto His disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners? 12. But when Jesus heard that, He said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. 13. But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I an not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Last time we saw the call of Matthew to greater service for the Lord. We have seen how Matthew answered that call and what it held in store for him later in life. Today, we are going to look at the events following that call and try to learn what the Lord would have us to learn.
In verse 10 Matthew used the phrase "and it came to pass". This essentially means that there was a short time lapse between our verses today and the call of Matthew to service. Now, we don't know how long of a time lapse there was. It could have been a few hours or a few days. From my studies, I tend to think that it wasn't a long time lapse, something like a half day. But there was a short time lapse of some sort. Next, Matthew says that Jesus sat at meat in the house. Whose house was Jesus in? He was in Matthew's! In Luke 5:29, which is Luke's version of our text, Levi (another name for Matthew) prepared a feast after he had been called to service. Now keep in mind, that a feast in those days was sometimes a lavish affair. It was usually toward the evening time, corresponding with supper, invitations were sent, etiquette to be followed, food to be prepared, and so forth. Feasts were often times associated with religious observances, such as the Passover, or great family occurrences, such as a birthday. As I studied this, I came to realize that Matthew hosted such a feast for different reasons. I believe that one reason was that he loved the Lord and wanted to show his love. Another was that Matthew KNEW who Jesus was, beyond a shadow of a doubt, and wanted to honor Him. I want us to think on these two reasons for a moment. Do we love the Lord enough that we show Him we love Him? I know a lot of people who say that they are saved, but never show their love for the Lord by doing what He says. Are you that way? Do you show honor unto the Lord every chance you get? Matthew honored the Lord through this feast, and while we can't show Him honor this way, there are others. We can live our lives in such a way that shows others that we are His servants. Do we? Looking further in verse 10 we see who was at this feast with Jesus. His disciples were there along with publicans and sinners. Now the word "publicans" is another word for tax collector. The word "sinners" is simply defined as one who misses the mark. Often times in the Gospels, the Pharisees referred to prostitutes as sinners. Now we don't know if that is the case here or not. We just don't have enough information. But we do know that those who were in attendance at this feast were those who needed Jesus as Lord. Let's think about who was there for a moment. Tax collectors and people who had missed the mark. Matthew invited people he knew through his secular job to this feast, along with those he knew who had missed the mark. In other words, Matthew invited those who needed the Lord in their life to the feast where the Lord was. Folks, Matthew witnessed to these people! He presented the Lord to them! Isn't that what we are to do also?
In verse 11 we see that some Pharisees saw (observed) Jesus eating with the publicans and sinners. I am not sure if the Pharisees were actually at the feast or had observed Jesus eating with these people. It doesn't really matter. What does matter though is the question they asked. They asked why Jesus ate with these people. I want us to look at this question a couple of different ways. First, notice who they asked. They asked the disciples! They didn't go to the Lord but instead asked those who followed Him. They didn't ask the Master but asked the followers! Why? I believe it was because they KNEW that Jesus would give them an answer they didn't want to hear. A lot of times we are the same way. We want an answer but we don't want the answer that the Scriptures give us. Example: The Scriptures tell us that committing adultery is wrong. But a lot of people want to say that it is alright to commit adultery now because the Scriptures are outdated. Folks, the Scriptures are just as relevant today as they were when they were written! Secondly, look at the manner in which the Pharisees asked this question. They asked it with an air of superiority. In other words, they asked it with a holier than thou attitude. Remember, the Pharisees were the religious leaders at that time and they looked down upon those who needed the Lord as being unworthy. Folks, we should present the Gospel to every one, no matter what their status in life is! Everyone needs the Lord, be it the drunk in the gutter, the prostitute on the corner, or even the drug addict. We should present the Lord to everyone. Matthew did. Do we?
In verse 12 Matthew records "But when Jesus heard that". Now remember, the Pharisees had asked the disciples the question. Did Jesus overhear them? Or was He reading their their thoughts again? Now I'm not sure, but I think that Jesus was reading their hearts again. Why? Think about it for a moment. When you talk to someone and you don't want another to hear, do you ask in such a way that they can overhear? NO! You speak softly, if not in a whisper, so that only the people you are speaking to can hear. I think this is what the Pharisees did, yet Jesus overheard them. Therefore I think that He was reading their thoughts again. Folks, I can't stress this enough. The Lord knows our every thought, and every deed. We can't hide anything! Looking further in verse 12, notice what Jesus said. "They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick". Again, we need to remember that the Bible was translated into Old English by the King James translators, not modern day English. The word "whole" here simply means well. So what Jesus is saying is that those that are not sick don't need a doctor but those that are do. Do you go to the doctor when you are feeling good? NO! You go when you are sick! Now I am not talking about an annual checkup, but just a normal day. You don't go to the doctor unless you are sick. You only go WHEN you are sick. But you know what? Each of us are sick. We have a dreadful disease called a sin nature in our life. And we will die from this disease. We have all sinned in our lifetime. But Jesus, the Great Physician, can heal us of the effects of this dreadful disease. The effects of sin is eternal separation from God. But when you trust Jesus as your Saviour, you will spend eternity in heaven with him. Have you trusted in Him?
In verse 13 we see something that made me stop and really think about. Jesus used the phrase "But go ye and learn what that meaneth". I had to think quite a while about this. Was Jesus referring to His previous statement about people who need a doctor? Or was He referring to the next statement He is about to make? I talked to a former pastor of mine about this, and he opened my eyes. Jesus is referring to His statement about those who need a doctor! I was trying to make this more complicated than it was! Folks, sometimes we try to make the Scriptures more complicated than they need to be. Preachers aren't immune to this either. The Scriptures were written in such a way that we can understand them if only we will listen to the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Jesus continues His thought with a quotation from the Old Testament. "I will have mercy, and not sacrifice". This is a direct quote from Hosea 6:6. In Hosea, the prophet wrote that God desired His people to have mercy upon others more than He desired sacrifices. What did he mean? To better understand this, we need to understand about sacrifices and the way the people looked upon them. The sacrifices in the Old Testament were each designed to point men to Jesus. If a person examined the sacrifices they would see Jesus pictured as the ONLY sacrifice for mankind's sins. But the people had gotten away from this picture and had come to think that the sacrifices would save them So you see the people were not showing mercy or love to others but instead were sacrificing thinking they were pleasing to God. It was not! Isn't it the same way today? People think that their works will save them when in fact only Jesus can. Have you trusted in Jesus as your personal Saviour today? Or are you trusting that your good works will get you into heaven? In the last part of verse 13 Jesus says that "I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance". Now righteous can be defined as simply being right in the eyes of God. Jesus didn't come to earth to call the ones who were already right in the eyes of God unto God. Why? Because they were already saved! Salvation, which is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, is the ONLY way you can be right in the eyes of God. Are you right in the eyes of God? Jesus also stated that He came to call sinners to repentance. Folks, Jesus lived the perfect life, died on the cross for us, rose again on the third day, and ascended unto the Father so that ALL might see that He was indeed the Son of God and the perfect sacrificial lamb for us. He did all that so that sinners, and I mean all of us, might see that He was indeed the Saviour and come to accept Him as such. Have you accepted Him as Saviour?
Today we have seen the feast that Matthew prepared for the Lord, who was in attendance, the Pharisees trying to cause trouble, and Jesus' answer. Have you trusted in Jesus as your Saviour today? He came so that you and I might come to repentance. How? By being the perfect sacrifice for our sins. Have you accepted His sacrifice?
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Bro. Freddie
4 Pointer
Missionary Baptist Minister
Posts: 184
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Post by Bro. Freddie on Sept 3, 2008 3:28:07 GMT -5
Matthew 9:14, 15 (King James Version)
14. The came to Him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not? 15. And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast.
By way of introduction, last time we looked at the feast that Matthew prepared for the Lord, who was in attendance, the Pharisees trying to cause disharmony, and Jesus' response to them. Today, we are going to look at something that might seem confusing to some just reading the Scriptures, but when looked at it in the proper light will be hopefully made clearer.
The first thing I noticed in verse 14 was that the disciples of John came to Jesus. A lot of the times when we study the Scriptures we tend to think that only Jesus had disciples, but as you can plainly see here, that was simply not the case. John had disciples also. Remember, a disciple is defined as a follower, someone who follows a teacher. But who is this John? It is John the Baptist! We forget that John had a ministry also. He did more than just baptize Jesus. After the baptism of Jesus, John didn't just leave. He continued to preach the Gospel! In fact, he continued to preach the truth and eventually lost his life over it. Anyways, these disciples of John came to Jesus and asked Him a question. Before we look at the question, I want us to contemplate on something for a moment. Who did the Pharisees ask in the previous verses? Jesus' disciples! Who did John's disciples ask? Jesus! John's disciples came to the One who had all the answers! They didn't go to the ones who might have known the answer, they went to the One who knew the answer to their question. Which group are we like? When we have a question, do we go to someone who KNOWS ALL the answers? Or do we go to someone who just thinks they do? Folks, Jesus knows everything because He is God in human flesh. He knows ALL the answers! Do we go to Him when we have a problem? Next, we see the question that John's disciples asked Jesus. "Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not?" In other words they were asking why they and the Pharisees observed the ritual of fasting while Jesus' disciples didn't. We have looked at fasting before, so I am not going to go into that again. But fasting was given to the children of Israel so that they would learn to put God first in everything. It had turned into nothing more than a ritual, used by people for show other than what it was originally designed for. It is a lot like that today too. Some people just go to church for show instead of what it was designed for. We are told to assemble together so that we might worship the Lord and grow in Him. But some go just to be seen and are not there for the purpose the Lord intend. Are you one of those?
In verse 15, Jesus begins to answer their question. "Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them?" "Bridechamber" signifies the room or hall in which the wedding ceremonies were held. It could also mean the chamber containing the bridal bed, or the friends who were in charge of providing what was needed for the nuptials. To better understand this, we need to look at a Jewish wedding. These were lavish affairs and involved dressing up by both the bride and groom, a procession through the streets, a feast was given at their new home, and other things. I believe that when Jesus used the word "bridechamber" here, He was referring to the friends of the groom who were in charge of making preparations at the couples new home for the newlyweds. Would these friends mourn during the festivities? NO! They would rejoice with the groom for getting married. Folks, Jesus is picturing Himself as the bridegroom. He is telling the disciples of John that His disciples shouldn't mourn (fast) while He was with them, but instead they should rejoice. Why? Because He was God in human flesh! God, who created everything, had taken on human flesh, and had come down to earth. It was a time to rejoice! It wasn't a time to mourn. I am rejoicing today also. When I was saved, the Holy Spirit came and took up residence in my heart. I have Jesus with me every step of the way! Can you rejoice today? Looking further in verse 15 we see Jesus prophesying about His own death. "But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then they shall fast." Think if you will about the days following Jesus' death. The disciples were scared, thinking that the Lord had died and that they were all alone. Jesus was taken from them, not by man, but by His choice. He freely gave His life for them, and us too. For 3 days and nights, the disciples were terrified at the events that had happened during Jesus' death. They had seen the King of Kings beaten beyond recognition, crucified, and buried. Wouldn't that be a time of mourning for the disciples? YES! Being human, I don't think the disciples understood everything that Jesus taught them concerning His death and resurrection. So they would have mourned during this time. But there is no reason to mourn anymore! Jesus has rose from the grave! Glory Hallelujah!
Today we have seen John's disciples asking a question and the beginning of Jesus' answer. We have seen the picture of Jesus as the bridegroom and why we should rejoice instead of being sorrowful. Can you rejoice today? Does Jesus live in your heart? Have you trusted in Him as your personal Saviour?
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Bro. Freddie
4 Pointer
Missionary Baptist Minister
Posts: 184
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Post by Bro. Freddie on Sept 7, 2008 3:51:53 GMT -5
We have now caught up to where I am studying. I will try to post every Sunday morning now instead of both Sunday and Wednesday.
Matthew 9:16, 17 (King James Version)
16. No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment, for that which is put in to fill it up taketh away from the garment, and the rent is made worse. 17. Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved.
As normal, a short introduction before we look at our verses. If you will recall. last time we looked at the disciples of John, who came to Jesus, and asked Him a question about why His disciples didn't fast, but they did. We looked at the first part of His answer, and saw how Jesus compared His disciples to the friends of the bridegroom and how that they were rejoicing because He was in their midst. There was no need to be sorrowful at that time, but a time would come when they would be. Today, we are going to look at the last part of His answer and see exactly what He meant. I hope you learn as much from this as I did.
Before we get started, I need to point out that this is supposed to go with the last lesson we had. I just ran out of time and had to split them up, but if I was preaching them, it would be one sermon. Also, I didn't understand our passage totally, so I needed to meditate upon it a little more. I think I now understand what it means and am ready to try and put my thoughts into words.
In verse 16, Jesus makes a statement that I believe everyone who was listening understood. "No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment." This was simply referring to an everyday fact of life which is patching clothes. As I was growing up, we didn't have a lot of money. My dad made a decent wage for that time, but raising 3 kids was costly, especially with 2 of them in school at the same time. We didn't have a lot of money, so when I tore a pair of jeans, usually from playing rough, as boys are apt to do, my mother or grandmother would sew a patch on them. This patch was more often times than not in the knees of my jeans. Sometimes it would be in other places but most times it was in the same place. Being that we didn't have a lot of money, my pants were patched to make them last longer. This patch was usually taken from an old pair of jeans that someone had outgrown or simply worn out. It wasn't a new piece of denim! It was the same way back then. They didn't take a new piece of clothing to cut up into patches to repair old clothes. They took an old piece of cloth to repair the clothing. Looking further, Jesus said "for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment". Think if you will for a moment about the facts of clothing. If you put a patch upon a pair of jeans, does it make those jeans more valuable? NO! It makes them less valuable. Does it make those jeans look better? NO! It takes away from the attractiveness of those jeans if they have a patch in them. Now, they didn't wear jeans back in the days that the Bible was written, they wore robes. But, it is the same concept. If you put a patch upon a article of clothing, it takes away some of the attractiveness of that clothing and makes the clothing go down in value. Jesus also said "the rent is made worse". Now I'm no seamstress. In fact, I have trouble threading a needle. But it just makes sense to me that when a piece of clothing is torn, that piece of clothing is weaker in that particular area than in others and the tear will get larger even though it is patched. Folks, this isn't rocket science. Jesus used everyday things of this life to teach the people and to get His point across. We should be the same way! We should use things in our life to tell others about Jesus!
In verse 17 Jesus used another fact of everyday life to make His point. Let's look at this in more detail. "Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish". Now to better understand this, you need to understand the fermentation process of grapes. From my limited understanding of this, grape juice, when bottled, begins to ferment, and turn into wine. It puts off a gas, which causes the bottles that it is put into to expand. Now the bottles were made up of animal skins that were slowly dried in the sun. They were something like leather so they had limited capacity to expand. When they made wine, they put it in these leather-like bottles and let it ferment. What would happen if they filled these bottles too full? The gas would expand the bottles and they would break! If a bottle had been used before, it had already expand to its maximum point and not able to expand any more. So if they put new made wine into an old bottle, it had no room to expand, thus causing the bottle break. Looking further, Jesus said that "they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved". In other words, they didn't want to take the chance that new wine would cause old bottles to break, so they put it into new bottles. That way they would not lose all their wine and hard work that it took to make this wine.
Now, I want us to look at the spiritual side of these examples for a moment. Remember, Jesus was answering a question of why His disciples didn't fast and He gave them 3 examples. One of the bridegroom, one of patched clothing, and one of new wine. What did He mean? It is very simple, yet complex. I'm not sure that I can explain it but I will try. The simple explanation is that God has chosen a different way for men to worship Him now than was in the past. In the days before Jesus came, men worshiped God at the Temple, offered sacrifices unto Him, and observed rituals, like fasting. But now, Jesus has started His church, and these old rituals, or customs, were done away with. Go back and look at our verses with these thoughts in mind. The torn cloth is Temple worship, the patch is the church that Jesus founded. The old bottles is Temple worship, the new wine is the church that Jesus started. See His point? His point is that you don't put something new (His church) with something old (Temple worship) because if you do, neither will survive. Folks, God has chosen for mankind to worship Him and serve Him through His church, not through sacrifices and rituals that had lost their meaning!
Today, we have seen something that is not easily explained through the written word. We have seen Jesus use 2 examples of life to explain that things were changing and that God desired mankind to worship Him through the church. Are you worshiping God through one of His churches? Or are you clinging to old rituals? To worship Him properly, first you must come to Him and ask Him for forgiveness of your sins. Have you trusted in Jesus? After salvation, you need to seek out and find a church that teaches the truth so that you can learn and grow in Him. As you grow, you will find that you will worship Him more and more for what He has done for you. Are you worshiping Him today?
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Post by Hardcase on Sept 7, 2008 16:30:39 GMT -5
Thanks for continuing to post this study!
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Bro. Freddie
4 Pointer
Missionary Baptist Minister
Posts: 184
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Post by Bro. Freddie on Sept 21, 2008 3:51:50 GMT -5
Matthew 9:18-22 (King James Version)
18. While He spake these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped Him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live. 19. And Jesus arose, and followed him, as so did His disciples. 20. And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind Him, and touched the hem of His garment: 21. For she said within herself, If I may but touch His garment, I shall be whole. 22. But Jesus turned Him about, and when He saw her, He said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.
If you will recall, last time we looked at the second part of Jesus' answer to John's disciples about why they and the Pharisees fasted and Jesus' disciples didn't. In the first part of Jesus'' answer, we saw how that they should rejoice because God was among them. In the second part of His answer we saw that God desired a different form of worship, one through His church, instead of Temple worship. Today, we are going to look at the events that followed this and hopefully learn what the Lord would have us to learn.
The first thing I want us to notice today in verse 18 is the phrase "While He spake these things unto them". Now I'm sure that you know where I'm going with this, but I'm going to say it anyway. What happened during this verse happened while Jesus was giving His answer to John's disciples. There wasn't a time lapse, or anything like that. It was at the same time! Folks, a lot of times Satan tries to get us distracted from what is important by having something else occur. Example: When I was pastor at Maple Springs the church had voted to replace an air conditioner. It was very hot one Sunday morning and my brother and I tried to install it. As I was working on this, I found out that the adult Sunday School teacher wasn't going to be there and I was the assistant. So I had to prepare a lesson right before services from literature I hadn't seen before. Plus I was concentrating on the sermon later that morning. As you can see, I was very busy, and that is when Satan struck. That morning a lady, who claimed to be an ordained minister wanted to join the church. Now Baptists don't believe in women preachers. Without thinking, I presented her to the church which was wrong. I was distracted by all that was going on! I said all that to say this. Jesus gives us the perfect example here of keeping our mind on the business at hand. We should not allow ourselves to get distracted by things, but instead we should concentrate on what is important. Looking further in verse 18 we see a certain ruler came and worshipped Jesus. Now, we don't know this rulers name or anything about him, other than he had a family that he loved. More on that later. The word "certain" means specific. The word "ruler" means a local authority, a magistrate who acts in the capacity of one who receives complaints and possess higher authority than a judge. This man was probably the ruler of the local synagogue from what I can determine. But I want us to notice the first thing that this man did. He came to Jesus! He didn't wait for Jesus to come to him, but instead he came to the Lord. What happened after he came to Jesus? He worshipped Him! This man, who had authority in that area, came to Jesus and worshipped Him! Folks, everyone needs to come to Jesus just like this ruler did. He came with a humble spirit recognizing that Jesus was God and worshipped Him. Isn't that the first step to salvation? Coming unto the Lord with a humble spirit realizing that we are sinners? Looking at the last part of verse 18 now, we see that this rulers daughter had died and he wanted Jesus to come and restore life unto her. Folks, this man had faith. He KNEW beyond a doubt that Jesus could restore her to life with just a touch of His hand. Brethren, Jesus is still giving life unto people today! It may not be physical life, but it is eternal life. When I asked Jesus to save me I moved from death (eternal separation from God) to life (eternity with God). And it was all through the shed blood of Jesus! Has Jesus given you life?
In verse 19 we notice that Jesus and His disciples arose and followed this ruler. Folks, Jesus had compassion upon this man and granted his request. The same thing happens today! When a person asks Jesus to save them, He does. Isn't that compassion? Shouldn't we also have compassion upon others? Folks, Jesus set the perfect example for us while here on earth. He showed compassion to this man and we should follow His example and show compassion unto others. Do we?
As we look now at verse 20, we need to keep one thing in mind. This happened while Jesus was on His way to restore the ruler's daughter to life. Imagine if you will what was happening. Jesus, His disciples, and the ruler were walking along. They were possibly walking among a crowd of people. A woman, who had a issue of blood 12 years came up and just touched the bottom of Jesus' garment. As I sat and thought on this, I asked myself a question. How did she get so close to the Lord? The disciples were following Jesus, meaning they were behind Him as they walked, so she had to get past them to get to Him. So how did she get so close? To tell you the truth, I don't really know. Were the disciples lagging behind? Possibly, but we just don't know. But is that really important? NO! What is important is that she saw an opportunity to get close to the Lord and she seized it. Folks, a lot of times the Lord opens up a door for us and we have to be willing to walk through that door. It could be witnessing to someone, or an opportunity to get closer to Him, or whatever. But when He opens the door we have to be willing to walk through it like this woman did. Are we?
In verse 22 we see this woman's faith. "For she said within herself, If I may but touch His garment, I shall be whole." She KNEW that if she just touched the Lord's clothing, she would be healed of her disease. Isn't that faith? YES! Do we have that kind of faith today? If the Lord opened a door for us, do we have the faith to KNOW that He will provide and care for us? Folks, we should have the faith of this lady. She acted upon her faith. Are we like her? Or do we have to be pushed through the door that the Lord opens?
As we look now at verse 23, the first thing I noticed was that Jesus turned around and saw her. Does this mean that Jesus didn't know she was there until she touched Him? NO! Jesus knows everything, so I believe that he knew she was there, but He was waiting on her to act upon her faith. This is another example of the free will that God gave unto mankind all the way back in the Garden of Eden when He created mankind. See, God gave each of us a free will, meaning we can choose whether to accept Him as Saviour or not, to serve Him or not, etcetera. He doesn't force anyone to accept Him. So Jesus was waiting upon this lady to act upon her faith. As we look further in this verse notice what Jesus said. "Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole." In other words, Jesus told her to quit worrying about it, she was healed because of her faith. This woman could relax knowing that she would not have this disease any more because of how she acted upon her faith. GLORY HALLELUJAH! Why am I rejoicing? Because this is telling me that when I acted upon my faith when I was saved, I was healed for all eternity of the penalty of sin. Notice I said penalty, not consequences. There is a difference! Folks, when I asked Jesus to save me, He did, and for all eternity. Have you asked Jesus to save you?
In conclusion, today we have seen two different people act upon their faith. We have seen how they came to Jesus, and Jesus had compassion upon them both. We have seen how this is a picture of salvation. My question to you today is have you acted upon your faith? Have you trusted Jesus as your personal Saviour? Have you come to Jesus, realizing that you are a sinner, doomed to spend eternity in hell, repenting of your sins? Have you humbled yourself before Him? Again, have you trusted in Him?
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Bro. Freddie
4 Pointer
Missionary Baptist Minister
Posts: 184
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Post by Bro. Freddie on Sept 28, 2008 5:07:04 GMT -5
Matthew 9:23-26 (King James Version)
23. And when Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the minstrels and the people making a noise, 24. He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed Him to scorn. 25. But when the people were put forth, He went in, and took her by the hand, and the maid arose. 26. And the fame hereof went abroad into all the land.
If you will recall. last time we saw the faith of two different people. The ruler, who asked Jesus to come and restore his daughter to life, and the woman who had a blood disease for 12 years. We saw how that Jesus had compassion upon both, how that these were pictures of salvation, and how we should act. Today, we are going to look at the rest of the story about the ruler's daughter and see what the Lord would have us to learn.
The first thing I noticed in verse 23 was that Jesus came into(entered into) the ruler's house. If you will remember, the ruler was probably over the local synagogue, and a man with a lot of authority over the local area. So it stands to reason that his house was probably in the local upscale neighborhood, and nicer than the ones around it. But what I want us to key on here is that Jesus entered into the "house". He didn't go to a tomb, or a graveyard, or anything else. He went to the house! The daughter of the ruler was still at home. What does this mean? It means that she hadn't been dead long and that the people were still mourning. So this tells me that as soon as she died, the ruler went to Jesus. He didn't wait around. He immediately went to the Lord. Brethren, we should be the same way. When we have troubles come into our life we should go to the Lord FIRST, not as a last resort. Often times, we try to solve our problems on our own instead of going unto the Lord. And usually that makes the situation worse. We should go unto the Lord as the first resort, not the last. Do we? The next thing I noticed in this verse was that there were a lot of people at this ruler's house. There were minstrels (people playing on musical instruments) and others making a noise (people mourning). In those days there were people who were professional mourners who went around to someone's house and mourned for the deceased. There were also people who played somber music to set the tone. So as you can see, Jesus walked into a very mournful scene. One thing I have to wonder about is the ruler's actions concerning this. We may never know, but I wonder if he told anyone that he was going to the Lord? If he had, did the others of his household not have the same faith he did? I say that because if they had had the same faith, they would not have had these professional mourners and musicians come in. They would have just laid this girl out on the bed and waited for the Lord without all the hoopla and fanfare. Folks, we have to have faith in the Lord! We have to realize that all things are done for His honor and for His glory. His timing isn't our timing. We tend to get ahead of Him which is wrong. Do we have the faith to wait upon Him?
In verse 24 Jesus said "Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth". Now remember, the King James Version of the Bible (which I use) was translated about 1611 AD. It was written in what we now call Old English. The English language has changed a lot over the years and this is one place where the Old English is a little confusing. The phrase "give place" could mean one of two things. It could mean that Jesus was telling the people to get out of the room, or it could mean that He was just telling them to move out of the way. Whichever it was, it basically meant for the people to give Jesus some room. As I sat and thought on this I came to realize that we too have to give Jesus some room. A lot of times in our lives, besides trying to get ahead of God's timing, we also get in God's way. We might say that we have prayed over a matter, but then we don't wait on God, but instead we take matters into our own hands. We are basically in God's way. Now don't get me wrong. I believe that God can take a situation we have messed up and turn it around for His honor and His glory. But if we would just let the Lord handle our problems instead of us trying to, we would be better off. Are you in the Lord's way? In the last part of verse 24 we see the people's reaction to Jesus' comment. They laughed at Him! The musicians and the mourners laughed at the Lord of all creation! And it wasn't just a laugh like you would laugh at a joke someone told. It was a laugh of ridicule! They made fun of Jesus! I can just imagine the thoughts running through some of these people's heads. I figure some of them thought that Jesus was a lunatic, or that he was delusional, or even that He was too egotistical. Folks, it is NEVER a good thing to laugh at God! Just off the top of my head I can think of two reasons why this is not a good thing. (1). God can and will prove you wrong! We have a few examples in the Bible of people who laughed at God and He showed them otherwise. The most notable one I can think of right now is Sarah. When God told her she would have a son, she laughed at God thinking she and Abraham were too old. She was proven wrong because she had a son about 9 months later. (2). If you laugh at God, He might just decide to remove you from the picture totally. There are examples of God killing people for not showing Him the honor and respect He deserves. Look at Pharaoh. He actually laughed at Moses' warnings, which were from God. God removed him from the picture. And he was the ruler of the mightiest nation on earth at that time. Folks, it is a serious thing to laugh at or ridicule God. There are dire consequences.
As we look now at verse 25 the first thing we need to notice is that the people were removed from the room where the ruler's daughter was laid. Before we go any further, I want to point out that I believe that every verse in the Bible is there for a reason. God placed it there for us to learn and to grow by. So I had to ask myself why this part of this verse was significant. I am not real sure if I can explain it, but I'll try. In every instance in the Bible that I can think of, when a person was raised from the dead, there was no audience. There was an audience OUTSIDE the tomb when Lazarus was raised. But no one actually saw them being brought back to life. As I pondered this, I wondered why. Then it hit me. A body is lifeless without a soul. These people were not allowed to see the soul rejoining the body. Why is this important? I believe that if a person actually saw a soul rejoining a body it would drive them insane. Folks, Jesus had compassion upon these people by not allowing them to see Him recall the soul from it's eternal resting place to reunite with it's body. Even after these people made fun of Him, Jesus still had compassion upon them. Would we be able to do the same? If people made fun of us for trusting in Jesus as our Saviour, would we have enough compassion toward them to tell them about Him? Looking further in verse 25 we see that Jesus simply touched her hand and she arose. Jesus didn't do any mumbo jumbo. All he did was to take her by the hand and she came back to life. Compare this to other places in the Scriptures that tell of a person coming back to life. Jesus spoke, and Lazarus came forth. One of the prophets, I forget if it was Elijah or Elisha, lay upon a young man and brought him back to life. Paul did the same thing. Jesus is the ONLY One who has the power to either simply speak or simply touch someone and restore them to life. Folks, this speaks to me of the awesome power of God. He alone has the power to restore life simply by touching or speaking.
In verse 26 we again see a word that needs defining. That word is "hereof". It means of this thing. So we see that the fame of this thing (raising someone from the dead) spread throughout all the land. How did it spread? Did Jesus come out of that room with the maid and say "Look what I done?" NO! I believe that the people who were removed from the room went and told others about this miracle, and then those in turn passed it on to others and so forth. Folks, Jesus did not brag upon himself about this miracle. He simply came out of the room, possibly holding the maid by the hand and presented her back to her father. Would that same thing happen today? If someone were able to raise another from the dead, would they keep quiet about it? NO! They would spread it all across the earth that they had raised someone from the dead. It would be all over the T.V., radio, and internet. Folks, we need to be more like Jesus! He was humble in this miracle so we should be humble in everything we do.
In conclusion, today we have seen Jesus raise a young lady from the dead. We have seen the awesome power of God at work. But we have also seen compassion toward others. All this was preformed by one person. Jesus. Jesus has shown compassion toward you too. He gave His life upon the cross for you. Have you trusted in Him?
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Bro. Freddie
4 Pointer
Missionary Baptist Minister
Posts: 184
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Post by Bro. Freddie on Oct 5, 2008 4:43:10 GMT -5
Matthew 9:27-31 (King James Version)
27. And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed Him, crying, and saying, Thou Son of David, have mercy on us. 28. And when He was come into the house, the blind men came to Him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto Him, Yea, Lord. 29. Then touched He their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you. 30. And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straitly charged them, saying, See that no man know it. 31. But they, when they were departed, spread abroad His fame in all that country.
If you will recall, last time we looked at the miracle of Jesus' raising the ruler's daughter from the dead. We learned that this was a picture of salvation because when Jesus saves someone they are spiritually alive where once they were spiritually dead. Today we are going to look at another miracle that Jesus performed, and see what we can learn from it. I pray that you learn as much from this as I did.
In verse 27 the first thing I noticed was that Matthew said "And when Jesus departed thence". The first question we need to ask is where did Jesus depart from. He departed from the ruler's house where He had brought back to life the ruler's daughter. In other words, He left that house and went on His way. As I thought on this, I came to learn that Matthew painted us another picture with just these simple words. What was it? It is that we are to go unto the world spreading the Gospel. Folks, Jesus could have stayed at the ruler's house and been praised and honored, but He didn't. He left to continue preaching to the people! We are to be like Jesus so we too should spread the Gospel everywhere. We weren't saved to just sit on our stool of do-nothing, but we were saved to be servants for Him. Are we? As we look further in verse 27 we meet two blind men. Now Matthew doesn't give us any details about these men other than they were blind. He doesn't tell us if their condition was from birth, or their names or anything. I tend to think that they were blind from birth because of the picture that is being painted for us. But these details aren't really important. What is important is what they did. They came to Jesus! They came to God in human flesh to help them with their problem. We too should go to Jesus with all our problems. He is the ONLY one who can help us. Let's look now at what these two blind men said in the last part of verse 27. With a pleading voice they said "Thou Son of David, have mercy on us". When they used the phrase "Thou Son of David" they were recognizing the fact that Jesus was of the lineage of David, thus the rightful ruler of Israel. Notice also that they asked for mercy. Folks, right here is a picture of someone coming to the Lord for salvation. These men recognized that there was nothing they could do for their condition of blindness. It was the same when I was saved, except mine was a condition of sin. I realized that I was lost and headed to hell and there was nothing I could do except accept Jesus as my Saviour. Have you come to a realization that you are a sinner and need Jesus as your Saviour? It says in Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God". This does not mean just one or two but everyone including you. Have you come to this point in your life?
In verse 28 it says "And when He was come into the house". Whose house was this that Jesus came into? Was it Matthew's? Was it Peter's? I don't know for sure, but I think it was Peter's house. Remember, Capernaum was the center of the Lord's ministry and Peter's house was in Capernaum. So I think that Jesus went to Peter's house in Capernaum from the ruler's house with these blind men following Him. Now it could be that the ruler's house (where He raised the dead daughter) was in Capernaum also. I just don't know. But notice what happened there. These blind men, who had come to a knowledge that Jesus was the ONLY one who could help them, came to Him in the house. They knew they needed the Lord, just like I did when I was saved. I knew that I needed a Saviour. And they did something about it. They went to the Lord. Same thing when I asked Jesus to save me. I went unto the Lord in prayer, repenting of my sins, and asking Him to save me. Can you see the picture that the Lord is painting for us? Notice what Jesus said in verse 28. "Believe ye that I am able to do this?" In other words what Jesus was asking these blind men was if they had faith. Did they have faith that Jesus could either restore or give them sight? Before we go any further we need to define faith. And the best place to do that is found in Hebrews 11:1. "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." What the author of Hebrews is saying is that faith is what we know for a fact but have never actually seen. I know for a fact that Jesus died on the cross for me. But I have never actually seen it with my physical eyes. So what Jesus was asking these men is if they knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that He could restore or give them sight. I also want you to notice what these blind men said. They said "Yea, Lord." A simple response yet very profound. They answered "yes" to the Lord when He asked them a question. When I was under conviction from the Holy Spirit to repent of my sins and give my life to Jesus, I also had to answer a question. Did I believe (have faith) that Jesus could save me? And I had the same answer as these blind men! It was YES! Do you believe that Jesus can save you? What is your answer to Him?
In verse 29 Jesus touched the eyes of the blind men and said "According to your faith be it unto you." In other words when Jesus touched their eyes, He told them that if they believed (had faith) then they would be healed (have sight). Isn't this a great picture of salvation? If these men would only trust in Jesus they would have sight. If a person would only trust in the Lord they would have eternal life. See the picture? One thing I want to point out here. Does the Bible say that if these men, after Jesus touched their eyes, didn't do enough good works their eyesight would be taken away? NO! What about that they had to go to the Jordan River and be baptized for them to receive eyesight? NO! Folks, all Jesus did was touch them. He didn't tell them to go to the Jordan River, to do good works, or anything else. It is the same way with salvation! Baptism won't get you into heaven. Neither will good works. The ONLY way to enter heaven is by trusting in Jesus. Have you trusted in Him today?
As we look now at verse 30, we see the results of the blind men's faith. Their eyes were opened immediately. There was no waiting period, no works, nothing. They were granted sight right then and there. Again, salvation is the same way. When a person asks the Lord to save them, it is immediate and forever. I find no record of Jesus telling these men that if they sinned they would lose their sight. Folks, when Jesus saves someone it is forever! In the latter part of verse 30 Jesus told these men to not tell anyone about this miracle. Why? I believe Jesus knew that if these men told everyone, His ministry would become a circus and He wouldn't be able to do what He came to earth to do, which was to live the perfect life, and die for mankind's sins. Since this is a picture of salvation does this mean that we are not to tell anyone about our salvation? NO! We are told in other places in the Scriptures to tell everyone about Jesus and what He did for us. Have you told someone about Jesus today? How about yesterday?
In verse 31 we see that these formerly blind men disobeyed Jesus and told everyone about what He had done for them after they left His presence. Again this is a picture that has been painted for us to see. Did Jesus take away their sight because they disobeyed His command? NO! He had, and still has, the power to, but He didn't. I can't state it any plainer. When Jesus saves someone, no matter what they do after-wards, that person is saved forever. But this does NOT give us free rein to do whatsoever we want to. We are to follow the Lord's commands and be productive servants for Him. Are you doing what Jesus commanded?
In conclusion, today we have seen a picture of salvation through the healing of two blind men. We have seen how salvation is free, it is by grace through faith, and it is forever. Have you trusted in Jesus as your Saviour? If not, then today is the day. Go to Jesus in prayer, humbling yourself, asking for forgiveness of your sins, and He will save you. That's all there is to it. If you have trusted in Him, are you do what he commands? Are you loving others? Are you telling others about Him?
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Bro. Freddie
4 Pointer
Missionary Baptist Minister
Posts: 184
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Post by Bro. Freddie on Oct 19, 2008 4:17:40 GMT -5
I apologize for not posting this last week, but I didn't understand everything and I had to pray and think on it.
Matthew 9:32-34 (King James Version)
32. As they went out, behold, they brought to Him a dumb man possessed with a devil. 33. And when the devil was cast out, the dumb spake: and the multitudes marvelled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel. 34. But the Pharisees said, He casteth out devils through the prince of the devils.
If you will remember, last time we looked at the healing of the two blind men and how that was a picture of salvation. Today, we are going to look at another healing, and how it was seen by two different groups of people. We will also look at how Satan works in the world, both then and now. Ready? Let's get started then.
Looking at verse 32, the first thing I want us to look at is the phrase "As they went out". The first thing we need to do is to ask who are "they" and where did they come out of. The "they" referred to here is Jesus and His disciples. If you will remember, back in verse 28, Jesus went into a house, possibly Peter's, and there they brought unto Him two blind men which He healed. This was a picture of salvation. So we now see Jesus and His disciples leaving that house which answers these two questions. As we look further in verse 32 we see that the people brought a dumb man to Jesus who was possessed with a devil (demon). Before we go any further, I need to make one thing clear. The word "dumb" means without speech, not without intelligence. This man, who couldn't speak, was possessed with a devil. Now, I don't know how these people knew this man was possessed, other than he couldn't speak. It is possible that he showed all the traits that we saw earlier in Matthew 8. These traits were being exceedingly fierce, strong, without morality, able to withstand self-inflicted pain and a few other things. It is quite possible that this man showed all these traits. I just don't know. But what I do know from this one verse is that the people brought this man to the only One who could do anything about it. These people showed faith in the Lord! They brought a man who couldn't speak to Jesus, who was, and is, the only One who could handle this problem. Do we have the faith of these people? When we have a problem, do we take it to the Lord?
In verse 33, Jesus cast out the devil (demon) and the man who couldn't speak spoke. Now Matthew doesn't record whether or not the Lord spoke to cast out this demon. He could have merely touched this man or even just glanced at him. We don't know. But what is significant is that the Lord once again showed the people that he had control over everything. Jesus removed this demon from this man, and the man spoke. Notice the order of this miracle though. Jesus first cast out the demon, and afterwards the man spoke. Is this significant? I think so. As I thought on this, I asked myself a few questions. Why did Matthew record this miracle in this manner? Why was the man unable to speak, yet others who were possessed could? I don't really know, but I have a guess. Could it be that the demon kept this man from speaking because of what this man would say? YES! Could it also be that the man fought the demon and was voluntarily dumb because he was afraid of what the demon would cause him to say? YES! I think the answer lies within both of these. I don't know much about medical sciences, but what from I have learned from personal experiences is that if you don't use a certain body part for a while, say a broken arm, you lose partial use of that body part. When I had my arm broken, I didn't use my right arm for about 2 months. This was to let the bones and the flesh to heal. After the doctors told me I could use my arm, I had to re-train myself to use it. I had been used to doing everything with just one arm, but now I was able to use two. This included everything from signing my name to feeding myself and everything in between. I think this is something like this man went through. He refused to speak because of what the demon would cause him to say, which was blasphemy unto the Lord. He lost the use of his tongue! After the Lord removed the demon from him, and there was no more reason to not speak, he still couldn't speak because he had forgotten how. The Lord restored unto him the ability to speak coherently without having to re-train himself. What a miracle! Looking further in this verse we see that the crowds marvelled (were amazed) at this miracle and said that the likes of it had never been seen in all of Israel. Why were the people amazed? Didn't they know that Jesus was God in human flesh? I think some of them did, but not the majority. So they were amazed that Jesus was able to perform this miracle. I think that the crowd expected the man to be babbling, much like a baby when they first learn to talk, but instead this man was able to speak coherently. Are you like this crowd when you see the power of the Lord at work in your life? I am! At the moment, it is bow season in Arkansas. I have spent several mornings sitting in a deer stand, looking over a pasture waiting for the sun to come up. As I watch the sky get lighter, I am able to witness a beautiful event. I am amazed every time that I am able to see God's handiwork in nature. Are you amazed when you see the handiwork of the Lord?
As we look now at verse 34 the first thing we need to notice is the logical indicator "but". As stated previously in these studies, this logical indicator tells us that what follows is opposite of what precedes. So what precedes? The crowd being amazed! What follows that is opposite? The Pharisees doubting Jesus! If you will look further in this verse you will see that the Pharisees thought that Jesus cast out this demon through the prince of demons or Satan. They thought that Jesus, God in human flesh, was in league with Satan! What a sad commentary. God was walking and talking among them and they chose not to believe in Him but instead chose to cast doubts upon Him. Are you like the Pharisees? When the Holy Spirit is convicting you, do you reject His conviction? If so, you are just like these Pharisees who rejected Jesus.
Today we have seen another miracle by the Lord. We have seen how amazing it was and the people's reaction to it. We have also seen how the religious leaders of the day (the Pharisees) reacted. Which group of these people are you like? Are you amazed by the work of the Lord in your life? Or do you reject what He has done? Folks, we will "ALL" stand before the Lord one day. There we will either hear "Depart from me" or "Enter in". What will you hear?
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Bro. Freddie
4 Pointer
Missionary Baptist Minister
Posts: 184
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Post by Bro. Freddie on Oct 26, 2008 4:47:29 GMT -5
Matthew 9:35-38 (King James Version)
35. And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. 36. But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. 37. Then saith He unto His disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; 38. Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He will send forth labourers into His harvest.
Last time we looked at the miracle of giving the dumb man back the gift of speech and the Pharisees reaction to it. We saw that the crowd was amazed yet the Pharisees thought that Jesus was in league with Satan. Today we are going to look more at Jesus' ministry and the compassion He had upon the people. I pray that everyone learns as much as I did about this passage.
In verse 35 the first thing that Matthew records is that Jesus went to all the nearby villages and cities. Now if you will recall, we have learned previously that Jesus' base of operations was at Capernaum. Capernaum was a city that was on the shores of the Sea of Galilee and there were several more cities in this region. If fact, biblical scholars have said that there was at least 9 cities with a good sized population. If there were cities, then there had to be villages, or smaller towns, around too. But why is this significant? I think that this is important because it teaches us that Jesus went to other places teaching, preaching, and healing. Folks, Jesus didn't just stay in Capernaum! He took the Gospel, or good news, to the people. Shouldn't we do that same? Shouldn't we also be willing to tell others about Jesus? Notice what Jesus did when He went to these villages. He taught in the synagogues, preached the gospel of the kingdom, and healed the people. I want us to look at these in the order that Matthew listed them because I believe that it is important. (1). Jesus taught in the synagogues. A synagogue was a place that the people met to learn about the Scriptures they had up to that point. It was NOT a church. It was more like a school than a church. But it was the meeting place for the people who wanted to learn more about the Scriptures. I believe that Jesus is teaching His disciples and us two things here in this one little phrase. First, we are to gather together. Folks, I believe with all my heart that when it was time to gather together in the synagogue that Jesus was there. He is teaching us by example that we are to meet together to learn more about Him. Secondly, Jesus taught the people what the Scriptures really mean. He showed them that the Old Testament was more than just the Law and history. He taught the people that it portrayed Him as the coming Messiah. (2). Jesus preached the gospel of the kingdom. The word "preached" essentially means declared. The word "gospel" is good news and the kingdom means heaven. So what did Jesus do? He declared to the people the good news about heaven! How did He do this? He declared unto them that He was indeed the Messiah that had been prophesied and that He had come to earth in the form of a man. Brethren, Jesus preached about Himself! He declared to the people that there was only one way that a person could enter into the kingdom of heaven and that was through Him. Shouldn't we do the same? We should all declare to others that Jesus is the ONLY way that a person can be saved. Now before you get confused, let me say this. We, who are saved, are all preachers. We should all declare the Gospel. This is not saying however that we are all called to the office of pastor. There is a difference! We should preach the good news to everyone we come into contact with. Do we? (3). Jesus healed the people. When Jesus healed these people of all their sicknesses and diseases, He again used a picture to teach us. This is a picture of salvation. How can I say that? Simple. We are all born with a disease called a sin nature. We inherited this disease from Adam and it will eventually kill every one of us. The eternal results of this disease is separation from God for all eternity. But Jesus saved those who came to Him, asking Him for forgiveness, thereby eliminating the end result of this disease. Now this is not saying that these people had their sin nature removed, simply that after they died that they would spend eternity on heaven. Have you been healed of the end result of your sin nature?
Looking now at verse 36, we see that Jesus was moved with compassion when He looked upon the crowds that followed Him. These people fainted, from being tired, and were scattered about, just like a herd of sheep who had no one to look after them. To better understand this, we need to think about a shepherd and a herd of sheep. When a shepherd moves his flock of sheep from one pasture to another, a lot of times that pasture is a good distance from the previous one. Sheep like to graze as they go, but if there is no grazing in between pastures, then the shepherd has to move them along at a fast pace to keep them from grazing on things that would kill them. When they get to another pasture, the sheep are physically tired and will only graze for a little while before they rest. These people that had been following Jesus were physically tired and needed to rest. They were also scattered about meaning that there was some over here and some over there, not all together. Sheep are just like that if they have no shepherd. They will wander off by themselves and get into trouble. We are like sheep. When we wander off from the Shepherd, Jesus, we tend to get into trouble. Satan likes nothing better than to divide and conquer. If Satan can get a person to wander away from the Lord then he has accomplished his purpose. Are you like these sheep who were wandering away from the Shepherd?
I want us to next look at both verse 37 and 38 together. These verses have been used throughout time to teach that we as servants of the King, Jesus, should be out telling others about the Lord. And you know what? They are right! First thing I want us to notice is who Jesus is speaking to. He is speaking to His disciples! In fact, He is speaking to His church, that He started on the shores of the Sea of Galilee when He called Peter, Andrew, James, and John to follow Him. It is always important to establish who someone is speaking to when studying the Scriptures. That is part of keeping what you are studying in context with the rest of the Scriptures. But why is this important? Because Jesus is speaking to His church, not to everyone that was following Him. See, there were lost people following Jesus, just hoping to see a great miracle, but Jesus wasn't speaking to them. He was speaking to those who had given their life to Him. Folks, people who have never experienced the love of God can not tell others about that love. Next, notice what He said in verse 37. "The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few." Jesus used an example here of a field being ready to harvest. This harvest was plenteous, or great, but there were not many workers to gather the harvest. I worked one summer many years ago helping a farmer get his fields ready to plant. We disked, put out fertilized, and planted. It was very hard work and time consuming. I moved on before the harvest, so I didn't get to see the results of our labor. But I talked to this farmer after wards and he told me that he had had a good harvest. Folks, farming is hard work, so not many people want to put in the time or labor to be successful. Witnessing is the same way! It is time consuming, and hard work. Not many people want to put in the time or labor to be successful in this endeavor. The harvest is great, but those who want to do the work are few. Are you willing to do what the Lord wants you to do? Are you willing to tell others about Him? In verse 38 Jesus said to "pray unto the Lord of the harvest that He will send labourers into His harvest". Simply put, we are to pray unto the Lord that He will send people who are willing to work for the harvest. What harvest is this? It is the harvest of lost souls! Again, Jesus uses an example here of a farmer who needs workers to harvest his crop. If a crop stays in the field too long, it will spoil, and be of no use to anyone. In Biblical days, a farmer would hire workers to come in and harvest his crop before it spoiled in the field. These workers would be paid a days wage to do this labor intensive job. In this example, Jesus is the farmer, we are the hired labourers, and people who have never accepted Him as Saviour are the crop. Never forget. It is the Lord's crop, we are just His employees. It is not our harvest! If you are willing to be a worker for the Lord, you will be paid, meaning blessings, and rewards in heaven, but it is not our harvest. It is the Lord's! Are you willing to go into the harvest and work for the Lord?
Today, we have seen Jesus set the stage for what we will study in chapter 10. We have seen Jesus teach, preach, and heal. Jesus has set the example for us of witnessing to lost people. Do we? Are we telling others about Him? Are we willing to be labourers for Him? To be a labourer for the Lord, you must first be in His employment. You must first give you life to Him before you can be an effective witness for Him. Have you asked Jesus to be your personal Saviour? If not, then all it takes is a simple prayer of faith, repenting of your sins and trusting Him to save you for all eternity. If Jesus is your Saviour, are you telling others about Him? Are you working for the Lord of the harvest?
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Bro. Freddie
4 Pointer
Missionary Baptist Minister
Posts: 184
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Post by Bro. Freddie on Nov 2, 2008 4:41:38 GMT -5
Matthew 10:1-6 (King James Version)
1. And when He had called unto Him His twelve disciples, He gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease. 2. Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3. Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; 4. Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. 5. These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: 6. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
If you will recall last time we saw how Jesus went int the synagogue, teaching, preaching, and healing the sick. We saw how that was an example of witnessing to others and how we should be better servants for the Lord. Now, we are going to look at more detail of how we are to witness to others. This will be a series that will take several weeks of studies. I pray that you are as blessed as I was when I started studying this.
The first thing I noticed in verse 1 was that Jesus called His disciples unto Him. Remember, a disciple was simply a follower, one who followed after someone else, and was taught by that person. So does this mean that Jesus called all of His followers? NO! Matthew specifically states that Jesus called the twelve who would later become apostles. Folks, Jesus didn't give the power He is about to give to just anyone. He gave it to a specific group of people, the twelve apostles! I could go into more detail about why I believe that He gave this to just these men, but I won't at this time. Let's just say that these were the ones He trusted with this awesome responsibility. But the main thing I want us to learn from just the opening phrase of this verse is that Jesus gave this power to only twelve men. He didn't give it to just anyone! Looking further in this verse we see the power that He gave unto them. He gave them the power to cast out demons (or unclean spirits) and to heal all manner of sickness and diseases. Now before we go any further, I need to point out one thing. Remember when we studied the Sermon on the Mount? I stated that the Sermon on the Mount was Jesus' ordination (or organizational) sermon to His church. He called the disciples to come and follow Him, thus starting His church, preached the organizational sermon, the Sermon on the Mount, and is now establishing another function of His church. What is this function? It is a witnessing program or a visitation program if you will. Jesus is instructing His church on how to go out into the world and witness to the lost! Isn't that one of the primary jobs of a church? Back to the power that Jesus gave to His disciples. He gave them the power to cast out unclean spirits, or demons, and gave them the power to heal all types of sickness and diseases. Notice anything missing? Jesus didn't give them the power to raise the dead, or restore sight, to speak in tongues, or other things. Their powers were limited! Why? Could it have been that Jesus didn't trust His disciples? I don't think so. If it wasn't that, then why was did the Lord limit their power? I believe that it was because they didn't need anything else. See, the Lord had established His church, but the church as a unit had never went forth into the world, telling others about Jesus. The disciples needed a small amount of power to show others that they were indeed doing the Lord's work and that they were the start of something new, the worship of the Lord through the church instead of Temple worship. Do we have these same powers now? NO! Why? It is because we don't need them! The Lord's church has been in existence for almost 2,000 years and there is no need of signs and wonders to show others that it is the start of something new.
In the next 3 verses Matthew lists the twelve disciples that Jesus gave this power to. They are Peter, Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, the other James, Thaddaeus, Simon, and Judas. These men were the ONLY ones that the Lord gave this power to. One thing that I found interesting is that Matthew listed Judas as the one that betrayed the Lord. Folks, this tells me that Matthew didn't record this while they were actually with Jesus, but later. Just think, the four Gospels, none written while the disciples were traveling with Jesus during His personal ministry, harmonize with each other. What a miracle! This could only have been done by the leadership of the Holy Spirit.
I want us to look at both verse 5 and 6 together. It is the same thought and should be looked at in the same light. Jesus sent these 12 men out to witness to others and told them to not go into the way (or region) of the Gentiles, or into any city of the Samaritans, but instead to go to the lost sheep of Israel. Why did He give them these instructions? I think it was for several reasons. The first is that it wasn't time yet. See, God had a man waiting in the wings that would go to the Gentiles. This man didn't know it yet, but he would find out a few years after this happened. His name? Paul. Another reason is that Israel, as a nation, had to have a chance to reject the Lord so that Scripture might be fulfilled. Another reason is that the Lord was teaching His disciples that witnessing starts at home. The disciples weren't in the region of the Gentiles, they were in Israel. They weren't in the cities of the Samaritan's but were in the cities of Israel. The Lord was teaching His disciples that mission work begins at home then spreads out unto the rest of the world.
Today we have seen the Lord establish a witnessing program for His church. We have seen the Lord give certain powers to twelve men, the names of these twelve and then He gave them specific instructions. If you are a child of God, you can thank the church for having a witnessing program, because that is how the Gospel is spread. But are you a child of God? Have you asked Jesus to save you from your sins? If not, won't you accept Him as your personal Saviour today? If you are a child of God, are you witnessing to others? Are you telling others what the Lord has done for you?
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