Matthew, Chapter 17

One of the gifts my wife and I got for our wedding was a spice rack. We got married almost three and a half years ago, and one of the 16 spices in that rack has been pretty much untouched in that time. It is a canister of mustard, one in which we have a running joke about when it comes to discussing recipes. Basically, we have no idea what we would use mustard seed in, so we say that its only use is for Biblical allegory. Other than that, we can't find a use for it.

What does this have to do with chapter 17 of Matthew? Well, it is here in chapter 17 where that specific allegory is mentioned. A mustard seed is very tiny. It is smaller than one of the ball bearings in my rollerblades. It is so small that if it were to spill on the floor, there is no way we would ever be able to clean up all of them. Jesus uses the size of the mustard seed in chapter 17 as an illustration of faith. It does not take a great amount of faith to accomplish what God wants, just as it takes just one mustard seed to grow a very large tree.

17"O unbelieving and perverse generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me." 18Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed from that moment.

 19Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, "Why couldn't we drive it out?"

 20He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." – Matthew 17:17-20

Even for the disciples faith was a struggle. We have seen this in previous chapters, and there will be further examples of this throughout the gospels. Peter is famous for his lack of faith, yet he is the rock upon which Jesus built His church. In this passage we see that even a small amount of faith can accomplish great things. Even now, when I am struggling with an extreme lack of faith, I am not completely dry faith-wise. It is my hope that what little faith I have can still accomplish what I need to do for the Lord.

So how do we grow our faith? I have often seen faith as something that is easy to grow when things are going well, but quickly goes away when things get rough. It is when things get rough that we need faith the most. The allegory with the mustard seed comes into play here, because sometimes the smallest amount of faith, that is, simply reaching out to God when we need Him, can be enough. In that, it is a choice to reach out and have faith that He is there and can do something about it. I feel I reached that point yesterday, because I don't have much else left.

TODAY'S QUESTIONS:

1. What is your definition of faith of a mustard seed?
   
2. How do we grow faith when things are rough?
   
3. How does grown faith help us when things are rough?

Matthew, Chapter 16

I must begin with a warning today. Today's entry will be highly personal. This is because I needed the Word of God this morning to truly speak to my heart, and it did just that. My personal entry seem to come off much better, anyway, because They allow me to really relate the Scriptures that were written 2,000 ago to something that is happening right now. That just makes God's power that much more personal and awe-inspiring. It also proves to me that the Bible is truly the living Word of God even today.

Today we are in chapter 16 of Matthew. There are four different things going on in this chapter. We have Jesus denouncing the Pharisees who have asked for a miraculous sign. We have a warning against avoiding the Pharisees. We have Peter's confession of Christ in which he receives the name Peter. Finally, we have Jesus predicting His death. It was the first two aspects that truly spoke to me this morning. We see the Pharisees asking for a miraculous sign so that Jesus might prove His divinity. Because of this, Jesus warns His disciples against being infected by their yeast. He uses another parable to illustrate this point, and this morning Christ's words seemed to be etched on my heart.

5When they went across the lake, the disciples forgot to take bread. 6"Be careful," Jesus said to them. "Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees."

 7They discussed this among themselves and said, "It is because we didn't bring any bread."

 8Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked, "You of little faith, why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread? 9Do you still not understand? Don't you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? 10Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? 11How is it you don't understand that I was not talking to you about bread? But be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees." 12Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. – Matthew 16:5-12

Lately I feel as if I have been crushed by depression. It is almost a physical weight I have been carrying around on my shoulders and chest. Because of the circumstances of life, I am faced with a time where nothing seems to get better. I am unemployed, but I have been able to substitute teach. God has provided this way, but it feels like all the work I have done has already been spent because of getting hammered by unexpected bills and such. To top it off, two weeks from now the school year will be over and I can no longer teach. At that point I am totally on god's grace to find a new job, and my temp agency has been less than accommodating with finding me a new position. Most days it feels like I am moving forward only out of sheer inertia.

I am of little faith, however. In this passage Jesus reminds the disciples of something he had recently accomplished with the feeding of 5,000 and 4,000 people on two separate occasions. We don't know how long it had been since these miracles, but they were in the last two chapters and Jesus' public ministry lasted only about 3 years. Because of that, it had to have been fairly recent. This hits home this morning because in the past God has come through for me even when it seemed hopeless. I was in a similar situation last July, and God came through with an assignment at the NCAA that last nine months and bailed us out in a very similar situation. Though I have not had a permanent full-time job in over three years he has delivered, like feeding the thousands, time and again. Still, this morning I struggle with a lack of faith.

Through it all, I am more than thankful that God has the patience to smile and still love me though I am lacking faith. Both my wife and I are struggling severely at the moment when it comes to trusting god. He seems to be silent while our wants seem to be at odds with His wants for us. I have the promise of the Scriptures, however, that he still loves us through this. That is bringing me to tears this morning. God sees past my shortcomings and still loves me. I know I am His regardless because I have placed my trust in him through the death of His Son on the Cross. As bad as things are, they could be infinitely worse, but God would still be there and He would still love me. Right now I want to rage and scream against him, acting like a spoiled child, but He would still love me.

Though I don't even want to go on right now and I feel absolutely worthless in the eyes of men, He still loves me and treasures me as if I am the greatest treasure in the universe. How can I not give Him praise for all that? I don't even have questions for you today, just praise for a God that can accept me and my eccentricities simply because he made me.

Matthew, Chapter 15

One of the many things that I admire in Jesus is His lack of fear when it comes to speaking out against those in authority. Most people, when they are chastised by one in authority, tend to cower away. Jesus, however, was not most men. Here in chapter 15 of Matthew we see Him speaking out against the Pharisees once again when they called him on His disciples being unclean. As usual, the Pharisees were trying to make a point and defend their own traditions in the face of God. They felt it was more important to hold on to one tradition than to change because God wanted them to change their hearts. In the discussion about being unclean, Jesus sets them straight.

10Jesus called the crowd to him and said, "Listen and understand. 11What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him 'unclean.' "

 12Then the disciples came to him and asked, "Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?"

 13He replied, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. 14Leave them; they are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit."

 15Peter said, "Explain the parable to us."

 16"Are you still so dull?" Jesus asked them. 17"Don't you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? 18But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean.' 19For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. 20These are what make a man 'unclean'; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him 'unclean.' " – Matthew 15:10-20

This is another parable, but it is a very important one because of its message. It was a radical idea at the time that nothing consumed could make one unclean. Jewish law had literally hundreds of things that were condemned as "unclean", but Jesus came to change the law and set up a new covenant in Him. Because of that covenant, it is what is in our hearts that determines our cleanliness in regards to God. Our hearts are a reflection of our character. Therefore, whatever comes out of our mouths is what is on our heart. If we have Christ in our hearts, we have nothing to fear because we are clean. If not, however, we are lost and fallen.

The rest of the chapter deals with another miracle of faith and with Jesus feeding more people miraculously. These are both lessons that we touched on in chapter 14, so they are here as reinforcement of the previous message. This reinforcement is not only for our case, but for the people Jesus was preaching to as well. The important part of this chapter is the parable on uncleanliness. It is what is in the heart that matters most.

TODAY'S QUESTIONS:

1. Is it still possible to have an unclean heart and mouth even with Jesus in your heart?
   
2. Is it possible to not be tainted by what we consume?
   
3. How does the consumption of popular culture play in this?

Matthew, Chapter 14

Today in Matthew 14 we see Jesus continue to teach about the lessons and power of faith. To me, faith is the most important aspect of our relationship with Christ. It is the entire basis behind our salvation, as we must have faith that we are saved by grace. During our study of the book of Hebrews we saw the great feats that were accomplished simply by acts of faith. This is illustrated in Hebrews 11 and that passage pretty much covers only Old Testament acts of faith and not the works of Jesus. We are asked by Christ to simply have faith, and we see in this chapter that event eh disciples didn't have enough faith at times.

So why is faith important? Let's face it, if Christ wanted to, He simply could reveal Himself powerfully to each and every person on the planet, leaving little doubt to His power and glory. This would be easy for Him, and if it was done to every person there would be no need for hell and damnation. It would be the simple way to save everyone, because if Christ simply chose to, He could do so. Faith, however, comes from free will. Much like the impetus behind this blog, Jesus merely presents the facts and leaves each person to make up their own minds when it comes to the gift of salvation. Christ makes sure that we actively take part in the process of saving ourselves. His life is meant to erase all doubt, but we still must learn about Him and accept this gift of faith.

19And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 20They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 21The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children. – Matthew 14:19-21

There is often a misconception when it comes to this particular miracle performed by Jesus. It is labeled as Jesus feeding the 5,000, but in actuality He fed many more on this day. As we see in the final verse, the number actually mentioned was 5,000 men. There were a number of women and children there with these 5,000 men, and they too were fed by the miracle that Jesus performed. It is mentioned here because it is an instance when He chose to teach the disciples more about faith. We will see, however, that they still had doubt even after this.

25During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear.

 27But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid."

 28"Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water."

 29"Come," he said.

   Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!"

 31Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?" – Matthew 14:25-31

This is another important lesson, especially for Peter. We know that Peter eventually went on to become a strong pillar of the early church. He is an interesting character simply because he often had moments of great faith mixed with moments of great doubt. This is one of them. We see that he was impulsive enough to hop out of the boat and walk on water, but quickly lost his faith and began to sink. Our own faith is like this when things go wrong. It is easy to have faith when things are going well and it seems like we are walking on water. It takes strength to continue having that faith when we are sinking.

TODAY'S QUESTIONS:

1. How did the disciples gain faith by the feeding of the 5,000?
   
2. What significance does the martyrdom of John the Baptist carry?
   
3. How does Jesus save us when we are drowning?

Matthew, Chapter 13 part 2

Sometimes parables are hard to understand. In Friday's lesson we saw Jesus speak in parables for the first time as He spoke to the crowd on the shore. The reason that Jesus often spoke in parables is that they are easy ways to give examples that the people can relate to. What we see in the second part of Matthew 13 is that he often spoke to the crowds, but he would give further explanation of the parables to His disciples in private. The crowds, however, were left to search for the deeper meaning on their own. This was Jesus' way of getting them involved with the gospel instead of spoon-feeding it to them. Jesus knew that if people would get involved in leaning His message would have a greater effect. Those that had ears to hear would pursue this deeper meaning, but those that did not would ignore the message.

In the second part of Matthew 13 we see speaking in further parables through the Parables of the Hidden Treasure, Net, and by explaining the deeper meaning of the Parable of the Weeds to His disciples. Each lesson carries with it a strong message about the coming Kingdom of Christ. The underlying message is that we must constantly work at expanding the Kingdom because it is the most precious treasure we can receive in this life.

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

 45"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it. – Matthew 14:44-46

This is not a message that we have to sell of everything we own. Instead, it is an illustration of how we should value our salvation and the kingdom of heaven. The message that Christ is teaching us here is that we should hold the kingdom of heaven in high regard above all earthly things. We must be willing to sacrifice whatever it takes to keep the Kingdom of Heaven. It is the least we can do after the sacrifice that Christ made for us. The Kingdom of Heaven hold immeasurable value, while anything we can have on this earth can have its value measured.

47"Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. 48When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. 49This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous 50and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. – Matthew 13:47-49

This is another perfect illustration of the world. There are certainly good fish and bad fish, but sometimes it is hard to tell which is which. Only God knows the true hearts of men, however, and that is why we see the illustration of throwing the bad fish away. We each have our chance to give ourselves to God. We will be held accountable for our own actions, and that is something that, sadly, society today does not promote. When we accept the gift of Christ's salvation through His death on the Cross we assure ourselves that we will be lumped in with the good fish.

TODAY'S QUESTIONS:

1. Why would Jesus not explain the parables in greater detail to the crowds?
   
2. How do you value the Kingdom of Heaven?
   
3. What do you see in your life that you may value more than the Kingdom of Heaven?
   

Matthew, Chapter 13 part 1

The Parable of the Sower is one of my favorite pieces of Scripture. To me, it is incredibly powerful and perfectly illustrates how the Message of Christ and Salvation is spread. I have decided today to separate it out with the Parable of the Weeds today in its own section apart From the rest of the chapter. Since our most important task in this life is to spread the Message it is important to know how that message is received. Ultimately, it is simply our task to plant seeds. At that point, we cannot control where they will fall or how they will grow.

3Then he told them many things in parables, saying: "A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. – Matthew 13:3-8

This may seem like a hit or miss style of preaching, but because of the nature of the human heart it is a very truthful message. Take a look around the congregation of your church the next time you are there. You'll likely see a couple of hundred people paying attention to the same message. It is very difficult to know the heart of any one of them except your own, however. There may be people that day that are fully focused on the message. There may also be people there that look focused, but they are distracted by the pace of life. This pace of life is preventing them from getting everything they need to get. There may also be people there that are discouraged and distracted by the enemy, therefore they too aren't getting what they need out of the message.

18"Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. 22The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. 23But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown." – Matthew 13:18-23

As I read this I see how much the Holy Spirit is involved in spreading the gospel. I try to live my life in a way that I am constantly planting seeds through either my words or my actions. I am not the type to go preach on a street corner, but I view this very blog as part of my ministry. This section of Scripture shows that we are all called to ministry in some form. I feel my role is to simply make it clear where I stand and why I stand there. At that point, it is up to god to change hearts and make sure the plant grows. It is because of the nature of the human heart that I don't know what type of ground these seeds are landing on, but God does. The amazing thing is that with technology as it is today, someone on the other side of the planet whom I will never meet could stumble across these very words and be changed by them. This is the seed, and it is up to God to cultivate the plant wherever it may fall.

TODAY'S QUESTIONS:

1. How do you plant seeds?
   
2. Does this make it easier or harder for you to plant seeds?
   
3. How does this build your own faith?

Matthew, Chapter 12 part 2

Yesterday we saw the absurdity of the Pharisees. I call it absurdity because there is no way you can explain their hatred for Christ other than absurd, filthy, sinful nature based on the fear of losing power. This is why I am not Christ. I would not have had Jesus' patience in the same situation. Instead of calmly explaining my actions in a parable as Jesus did, I would have been tempted to say, "You have got to be kidding me, right? I just healed a guy, and you're upset because I happened to perform a freaking miracle on the Sabbath?"

Thus we see the power, majesty, and infinite patience of Christ. That patience continues today in the second part of Matthew 12. First we see a long rebuttal by Jesus on being compared to Beelzebub. In it, Jesus systematically takes apart the argument of the Pharisees and attempts to show them their error in judgment. Unfortunately, the Pharisees continued to ignore the evidence presented to them. Because they continued to oppose Jesus, the Pharisees were guilty of committing blasphemy against the Spirit. That is a sin that cannot be forgiven.

30"He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters. 31And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. -- Matthew 12:30-32

Blasphemy against the Spirit is not some unconscious error that can be easily forgiven. It is a blatant and constant rebellious attitude that rejects the Spirit of God in one's life. It is done deliberately without remorse. The fact that it is done without remorse is what makes it stand out. If we realize our error and ask for forgiveness Christ has promised that we will be forgiven. This is true because we know that God is love. We only need to show a willingness to repent and we will be forgiven. It is when we continue to rebel against God, as the Pharisees did by rejecting Christ in the face of overwhelming evidence, that we run into trouble. Doing so causes a permanent separation from that love.

39He answered, "A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here. 42The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon's wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here. -- Matthew 12: 39-42

Jesus quickly shifts gears in this chapter to answer a question about miraculous signs. Throughout His ministry Jesus provided many miraculous signs. He refused to perform miracles just for show, however. Once again, the Pharisees refused to accept Him because He did not operate on their terms. They were well aware of His miracles, but they wanted to be the ones who dictated His miracles. Obviously, Jesus answered to a higher power in this way. Jesus felt that what He had done should be more than enough and clarified that through His teachings.

TODAY'S QUESTIONS:

1. What do you think about Jesus' argument against Beelzebub?
   
2. How do you see blasphemy against the Spirit today?
   
3. Do we still need miraculous signs today?