I hear people say, “oh, yes, I’ve read the Bible. I read the whole book” as if this means they are somehow an expert. Maybe you can read any top 10 novel and ‘get it’ but the Word of God is so much MORE …
This morning my reading was in Matthew 13 and 14. I am on my third or fourth Bible, each previously given away, along with personal side notes. So this morning, my margins were delightfully clear. But not for long. Following are my notes, and I share them with the intent to get us THINKING… and sharing. :)
The first notation came upon reading Matthew 13:15. “For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.”
Whoa. SEE, HEAR, UNDERSTAND… BUT… UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART! IF/THEN… IF SEE, HEAR, UNDERSTAND, THEN… CONVERSION… AND THEN… Jesus heals them. We are all in a process of being healed. Healing comes in many forms, not all physical. He came to heal the brokenhearted, to bind up their wounds. He came to set the captive FREE. And who the Son sets FREE, is FREE indeed. Do we become ‘free’ in every sense the moment we believe?
Next was Matthew 13:21. “Yet he hath not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.”
Again, whoa. Some read that to mean the “root in himself” as something to be found in us, as in “the truth is found within” , et al. But the focus here is on the ROOT! No ROOT was found in him! ROOT, PEOPLE! ROOT!! And he endured for a time, but when TRIBULATION AND PERSECUTION arises… what kind of tribulation and persecution? THE ONE BECAUSE OF THE WORD! This is happening already. I don’t need to say again how much heresy I hear on almost a daily basis. Listen to any ‘christian’ radio station and I hear heresy mixed with Truth. Watch any Sunday morning ‘christian’ television service, and well, it ‘speaks’ for itself. IF YOU DO NOT KNOW THE TRUTH, YOU WILL FALL FOR A LIE, AND THAT LIE HAS NO ROOT. When you have no root, you will die, the plant dies. The word ‘offended’ here means more than just getting your feelings hurt, I suspect. I’m not into the ‘Greek’ and maybe at times I should be, but this word ‘offended’ to me clearly means the drop the whole thing. They break. They bail.
Now the next passage(s) I found to comment on were Matthew 13:30,41-43,49-50.
verse 30: “Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.”
verses 41-43: “The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; and shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.”
verses 49-50: “So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”
Now what I noticed I had never noticed before. The wicked are first gathered together, bound, burned; the wicked are first cast into the furnace of fire; the wicked are first severed from among the just and cast into the furnace of fire… THEN the wheat is gathered into His barn, THEN the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of Our Father!!
I don’t know about you, but this kinda tweaks some old-school thinking and teaching. I know God’s Holy Spirit will ‘bring it home’ in me, and maybe you have already had the Light shed on this? Please share!
The next thing I took note of was found in Matthew 13:57-58. “And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, “A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country; and in his own house.” And he did not many mighty works there BECAUSE OF THEIR UNBELIEF.” (EMPHASIS mine.)
I know most of you have already noticed this. But for me, even after 5 years of reading and studying, I had never noticed this last part! For me, it was personal. It isn’t about US, it’s about their unbelief. Just my thought…
Now the next one really got to me. Matthew 14:9. “And the king was sorry: NEVERTHELESS for the oath’s sake, and them which sat with him at meat, he commanded it to be given her.”
Verse 2 of 14 proves that Herod thought John the Baptist was the real deal. It proves it!!! (vs. 2: “And said unto his servants, ‘this is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead; and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him’.”
When Herod heard of Jesus, he immediately thought it was John the Baptist, risen. HE KNEW! Yet, why did he have him beheaded? Yep. He was weak… boy was he a weak man. He cared more about saving face than standing up for the truth. He would rather have a man he knew was the real deal beheaded than face those at his dinner table and change his mind, a decision made during a weak moment. And we don’t even have to go towards that bunny trail…. we know what weakness THAT was.
The next verse that shouted out at me was Matthew 14:14. “And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, AND HE HEALED THEIR SICK.”
Jesus had compassion… then… He healed the sick. Compassion – healing. Anyway, it hit me square between the eyes and the heart. :)
Then I came to Matthew 14:26-28, 31-32, 35-36.
Matthew 14:26-28. “And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, it is a spirit; and they cried out in fear But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.”
Matthew 14:31,32. “And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand AND CAUGHT HIM, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?”
Matthew 14:35-36. “And when the men of that place had knowledge of him, they sent out into all that country round about, and brought unto him all that were DISEASED; and besought him that they might ONLY TOUCH THE HEM OF HIS GARMENT: and as many as touched were made PERFECTLY WHOLE.”
When the disciples first saw Jesus, the immediately thought he was an evil spirit and they were afraid. Think about this…and Peter said IF IT IS YOU… bid me come unto thee on the water. I always thought water to be ‘Holy Spirit” … makes one really wonder about this passage. First comes the attribution to something wrong, then Peter wants a sign… bid me come to the water…
and when Peter began to sink… what did Jesus do? He IMMEDIATELY stretched forth His hand AND CAUGHT HIM. He caught him. Immediately. We can use this information. Then Jesus poses the question, “wherefore didst thou doubt?” I think it was their first impression… attributing what they saw as something different than it was. Just food for thought….. not saying I might see something different the next time I read it. What do YOU think??
Now the next one is awesome. When the men of that place heard Jesus was there, what did they do? They brought to Him ALL THAT WERE DISEASED. They even went out of their way to gather them from all around the country. And…
… besought him that they might ONLY TOUCH THE HEM OF HIS GARMENT: and as many as touched were made PERFECTLY WHOLE!! In Matthew 14:58 we see that ‘because of their unbelief’ Jesus didn’t do mighty works. Here, we see that their faith was great… only touch the hem of his garment… and they were made whole, but wait…. much more…. they were made PERFECTLY WHOLE.
Well, that’s it. A morning’s devotion time. Even a few minutes can open up a world of thought, focused on Him, brought home by God’s Holy Spirit, who leads and guides us into ALL Truth. He is our teacher. I just bring….. my thoughts.
God bless you and keep you. -L
ps: oh wait!!! I forgot one!! Matthew 14:32. “AND WHEN THEY WERE COME INTO THE SHIP, THE WIND CEASED.” I pray we stay in the ship and know, by the wind, that we’re out of it. :)