Gems from the Gospels - Matthew Chapters 11-24

Gems from the Gospels

Matthew Chapters 11-24

Matthew 11-12 Jesus explained that a house divided against itself would ultimately fall. He was explaining that He could not possibly be casting out demons by Satan’s power because Satan would be divided against himself. I have heard sermons on the unity of the church preached with this as a jumping off point, and that may be valid. What we saw today was that a person cannot be divided within himself/herself. As Elijah said to the Israelites:

1 Kings 18:21 And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.

James called this wavering between opinions being double-minded, tossing back and forth between faith and doubt, leading to instability.

James 1:6-8 (KJV) But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

James 1:6-8 (VOICE) The key is that your request be anchored by your single-minded commitment to God. Those who depend only on their own judgment are like those lost on the seas, carried away by any wave or picked up by any wind. Those adrift on their own wisdom shouldn’t assume the Lord will rescue them or bring them anything. The splinter of divided loyalty shatters your compass and leaves you dizzy and confused.

Trust completely in God and not your own understanding (Proverbs 3:5-6). DON’T BE DIVIDED!

Matthew 13 & 14 – We read the parable of the seeds landing on different types of soil and its explanation. The soil is the heart condition of those who hear the gospel preached. Then we learned that a small amount of faith in Jesus can result in mighty things. We saw that there can be “tares among the wheat,” in other words evil ones impersonating Christians. Our focus was drawn to the parables concerning the value of the Kingdom of Heaven—the man who sold everything to buy a field with buried treasure and the one who gave all to buy the most valuable pearl. Susan noted, “Jesus gave up all to purchase our redemption. His Kingdom is worth giving our all—time, gifts, possessions, lives. It is all His, and the only righteous thing to do is to be a good steward of what belongs to Him.” WHAT’S IT WORTH?

Matthew 15 & 16 – These chapters included the fact that what comes out of our mouths is what makes us unclean because our hearts need to be cleansed (1 John 1:9). There was the account of a Canaanite woman who persisted, telling Jesus that even the pet dogs get the crumbs that fall from the master’s table. Jesus healed her daughter of a demon and praised her faith. Jesus had compassion on those who had listened to Him teach for three days and feed 4000 men plus the women and children from seven loaves and a few fish. He is able to provide what we need. Jesus refused to give the Pharisees and Sadducees a sign except that of Jonah, alluding to His death and resurrection. Peter states that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God; and Jesus tells him this was revealed to him by the Father. The disciples could not accept what Jesus told them about His impending death. He explained that those who follow Him must deny themselves and take up their own crosses. Follow the Father’s plan for us as Jesus did. We do not need to rely on our own abilities or the fulfillment of our own dreams. Jesus provides all we need, and God’s will is far superior to our own. HE IS ENOUGH!

Matthew 17 & 18 – Peter, James, and John were witnesses to the glory of God upon Jesus as He spoke with Elijah and Moses on a mountaintop. God spoke from a bright cloud confirming that Jesus was His Son whom He loved and who pleased Him. God commanded them to listen to Jesus. Jesus explained that John the Baptist had come in the spirit of Elijah to fulfilled the prophecy of Micah 3:1, 23-24. When they came down from the mountain, a man brought his son to Jesus to be healed of seizures. His disciples had not been able to heal him because of too little faith. There was a great fish story (LOL) of Jesus telling Peter to pay their temple tax from a coin in the mouth of the first fish he would catch! Childlike humility is necessary to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus told the parable of the Shepherd who left 99 sheep to find one who was lost. This reminded us of John chapter ten where Jesus calls Himself “The Good Shepherd.” The focus of the day was forgiveness as we read the instructions for confronting someone who has sinned against you and the parable of the unforgiving servant. The steps to reconciliation are:

1.       Confront the one who has wronged you privately, alone.

2.       If he doesn’t come around, take two to three witnesses. Deuteronomy 19:15

3.       If he still cannot see his error, involve the congregation.

How much better might relationships be if we followed this pattern? The unforgiving servant was forgiven a huge debt by his master only to turn around and have a fellow servant thrown into jail over a pittance. We are the servants who have been forgiven an impossible debt—our sin—because Jesus took our punishment on Himself. We are told to forgive as we have been forgiven—completely, freely, even though unmerited. FORGIVE ALL!

Matthew 19 & 20 Jesus taught on divorce and His disciples concluded it would be better not to marry. Jesus explained reasons to remain single. We plan to research this in the future but have concluded that singleness is definitely an accepted option. Jesus told the disciples to let children come to him to be blessed. The Kingdom of Heaven belongs to the childlike—the hungry, eager, trusting, believing. Jesus told a rich man to sell everything and give to the poor before following Him, and the man went away sad. As Susan pointed out, “to have wealth but not have Jesus is to have nothing.” We are to be living sacrifices, laying our all on the altar for Him (Romans 12:1). Jesus taught the parable about the farmer hiring day laborers. He paid them all equally even though some only worked one hour. When those who worked all day for the wage they had agreed upon grumbled, the farmer told them not to begrudge his hospitality. Jesus again foretold His death, burial, and resurrection. The mother of James and John asked Jesus that her sons be seated at His left and right in the Kingdom which is only the Father’s to grant. The other disciples were outraged. Jesus explained that they were not to be like worldly leaders, lording it over others, but to be servant-leaders. He healed two blind men who had called out to Him as the Son of David. He was not annoyed by their calling out. He was compassionate. Jesus was constantly on the lookout for those who needed His healing touch. As He told the disciples, He came to serve rather than to be served. We are to follow His example and keep an eye open for opportunities to share the Good News and to minister to others. TAKE A LOOK!

Matthew 21 & 22 – Triumphal Entry – Jesus sent two disciples to get a donkey and its colt. He road into Jerusalem on the colt in fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9. The Crowds shouted, Hosanna (Please, save us) and “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” In the name of means in the power and authority of the Lord. Jesus chased the merchants and money-changers out of the temple telling them that they had turned His house of prayer (Isaiah 56:7) into a den of robbers (Jeremiah 7:11). The Pharisees rebuked Jesus for allowing children to sing His praises as Messiah, and He quoted Psalm 8:2-3 about praise from the mouths of infants and children. The Pharisees question His authority to teach and He answered their question by asking by whose authority John baptized. They could not solve this conundrum because if they said God, He would say, “then why weren’t you baptized;” but if they said it was from man, the people would revolt because they viewed John rightly as a prophet. Therefore, Jesus did not answer their question either. He told the parable of the two sons, one who balked but did what his father asked and one who said he would but didn’t. The Pharisees were like the latter. He told the parable of the vineyard owner whose tenants killed his servants and then his son rather than pay him his share. The tenants represented the Jewish leaders, the servants were the prophets, the son was Jesus, and the vineyard owner was God the Father. The focal point of this day was the parable of the king who hosted a banquet for his son’s wedding. The invited guests refused to come, so he sent servants to invite people on the street. God has invited us to enjoy the feast of His grace. DON’T BACK OUT!

Matthew 23 & 24 – Jesus taught His disciples to respect the Pharisees and Scribes as sitting in the seat of Moses, being interpreters of the Law. But he warned them not to act like them. As Susan said, “Don’t imitate these posers.” The Jewish leaders of that day were all about show with no substance. Jesus pronounced several “woes” upon them and even called them “white washed tombs full of bones and rottenness.” He ended this speech by calling them snakes and murderers. Matthew 24 is Jesus’s teaching on the end times. He prophesied the destruction of the temple which would happen in AD 70. He warned of several signs that would be the beginning of the birth pains of the end—wars, earthquakes, famines, persecution, false prophets and teachers, and even fake messiahs. Jesus said not to listen if someone tells you the Messiah is over there or in here. When He does return it will be like lightening that is seen from east to west. You won’t be able to mistake His power and authenticity. He ends with an admonition to be constantly alert and ready because no one knows the day or time but the Father. He will return unexpectedly. As Pastor Ben Polson wrote, we need to “keep our minds, attitudes, and action clean.” CLEAN ME UP!