Matthew 14 - Tell it to Jesus!

 

Matthew 14 – Tell it to Jesus!

 

Herod ruled Galilee and had John the Baptist beheaded. Herod’s guilty conscience and his superstitious beliefs made him fear that John had come back in the form of Jesus (Luke9:7-9). Terrible guilt in the human mind often gives birth to wild fantasies.

 

The disciples of John the Baptist were stunned, so they shared their grief with Jesus. Life will bring its disappointments, and you must learn to handle them. Jesus will help you. (Psalm 55:22; I Peter 5:7).

 

The twelve said “send them away!” but Jesus said, “Bring what you have to me!” Give Him your all, and He will use it to meet the need. He can do the impossible with whatever is wholly given to Him. You can even bring to Him people who need His touch.

 

Some storms come because of our disobedience, but this one came because they obeyed Jesus. Peter did walk on the water; but when distracted by dangers around him, he took his eyes off Jesus. We look to Jesus by faith when we trust His word (Heb. 12:1-3). Beware of distractions.

 

Jesus had just lost his cousin and the Jewish leaders were plotting against Him, and He knew what lay ahead in Jerusalem, yet moved with compassion, He stopped to meet the needs of the crowd, healing the sick.

 

Jesus told the disciples to give them something to eat. God often gives His children tasks that they cannot complete with their own strength. With 12 baskets of loaves and fishes left over He may have been signaling that this feast was Israel’s – a basket for every tribe.

 

Please read the chapter listed so that you can understand God’s Word better.

If you have missed any lessons, you can go to: God Plans For You at https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com.

Nelson’s Quick Reference Commentary.

Dr. David Jeremiah Study Bible.

J. Vernon McGee Through the Bible.

Matthew 13:44ff

 

Matthew 13:44-58 – The Pearl of Great Price

 

“Whoever finds the pearl of great price, God’s kingdom, will happily give up everything to possess it.

 

Jesus tells of a dragnet being pulled into a boat with good fish that looked much like bad fish. Because He speaks these parables from a boat on the water, He may be saying that the parables themselves are like the dragnet, distinguishing those who listen from those who do not. God knows the difference, and one day the truth will be revealed (I Tim. 5:24).

 

Despite what His disciples said, they did not truly understand all of Jesus’ teaching. No doubt they understood more than the multitudes, but even they had a limited understanding of Jesus’ words.

 

Jesus targets His own disciples with the mystery of the last parable. Like a householder who values the new things along with the old, His disciples must understand the new things learned from Him considering the Old Testament scriptures.

 

When Jesus returned to His hometown of Nazareth, He found a population unwilling to recognize Him as the Messiah. They acknowledged His remarkable teachings and His many miracles but felt offended by Him because they did not see how a hometown boy could have possibly risen so high (Mark 6:3; Luke 4:24, John 4:44). In the Gospels Jesus is the only person said to scandalize others.

 

Jesus’ power was not diminished by the people’s unbelief; He did not do many mighty works in Nazareth because they were not coming for His miracles. It is possible that He wanted to limit the amount of what could be called “the high profile attention” to avoid creating greater public skepticism and greater opposition from the Pharisees and teachers (Mark6:5).

 

Please read the chapter listed so that you can understand God’s Word better.

If you have missed any lessons, you can go to: God Plans For You at https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com.

Dr. David Jeremiah Study Bible. Nelson’s Quick Reference Study Bible, J. Vernon McGee Through the Bible.

 

Matthew 13:13-43 -The Parables of Jesus

 

Matthew 13:13-43 – The Parables of Jesus

 

The kingdom Jesus has inaugurated will one day come to fullness and be recognized for its greatness. The Kingdom, like a tree, will be a place where people find rest and security.

 

Yeast or leaven describes the process of the kingdom’s growth. Yeast accomplishes its work overtime, eventually its presence affects everything around it.

When people listen or read stories of Jesus, they are privy to the most ancient and profound secrets ever told. (I Cor. 2:7; Eph. 3:9; Col. 1:26).

 

Satan does not sow thorns or briars or brush, he sows darnel, which is impossible to distinguish from genuine wheat until harvest time.

 

After Jesus concluded His sermon, the disciples asked Him to explain the parable of the tares. Jesus teaches that one day He will sort the wheat from the tares and mete out either judgment or reward according to His omniscience. His judgment will be both complete and final.

 

The lawless are destined to experience the fires of hell, where they will live in eternal misery (Rev. 19:20; 20:10). The righteous will live in eternal radiance and joy. Their king will also be their Father. The righteous are those who come to Jesus in faith to be cleansed of their sin and guilt. Jesus will clothe them with His own righteousness.

 

When someone found a buried treasure and unearthed it, that treasure belonged to the owner of the property. But if the finder could buy the property, then everything in it would belong to the finder. What is considered a costly sacrifice today will one day be revealed as a pittance when compared to the riches of the kingdom of heaven. (Rom. 8:18). Whoever finds the pearl of great price, God’s Kingdom, will happily give up everything to possess it.

 

Please read the chapter listed so that you can understand God’s Word better.

If you have missed any lessons, you can go to: God Plans For You at https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com.

Nelson’s Quick Reference Commentary.

Dr. David Jeremiah Study Bible.

 

Matthew 13:1-13 - The Parable of the Sower

 

Matthew 13:1-13 – The Parable of the Sower

 

The parable has three main elements: the Sower, the seed, and the soils. The Sower represents the Lord, the seed is the Word of God, and the soils represent the hearers each with a different response to God’s Word.

 

God is sowing His Word in human hearts and looking for fruit. He is sowing His people in the world where they can produce a harvest. At the end of the age, He will separate the true from the false and the good from the bad

 

You are a seed containing His divine life, but a seed must be planted to produce fruit. Truth must not be hoarded; it must be shared so that others can be saved and built up in faith. Preaching the Word of God is like taking God’s seed- the Word of God and spreading it everywhere.

 

The wayward soil represents the callous heart. It cannot penetrate the soil and is hard as concrete.

 

The stony soil represents the casual heart. Some people appear to be converted and seem to experience explosive growth, but soon fall back into their old ways of living. Jesus is not speaking of losing one’s salvation, He says instead that such people never had salvation to begin with. Instead, they had only a shallow, emotional experience.

 

The thorny soil represents the crowded heart. The enemy here is not internal but external. The hearts are divided thereby crowded.

 

The good soil represents the converted heart, the person who hears the Word, allows its truth to sink in, and is genuinely saved.

Each parable of Jesus has a mystery for believers to know; but those who resist Him will not know. Jesus used parables because He did not want some in the Jewish crowd to understand His teaching. It veiled the truth from casual listeners and his opponents, but to the ones committed to following Him, the truth of these parables exploded in their minds.

 

Please read the chapter listed so that you can understand God’s Word better.

If you have missed any lessons, you can go to: God Plans For You at https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com.

Nelson’s Quick Reference Commentary.

Dr. David Jeremiah Study Bible.  J. Vernon McGee Through the Bible

Matthew 12 -Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath

 

Matthew 12 – Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath

 

The religious leaders were waiting for an opportunity to attack Jesus, and He deliberately gave it to them. What a tragedy to be burdened by legalism when you could enjoy the true Sabbath rest! When Jesus is your Lord, all of life becomes a Sabbath and every place is God’s temple, even a grain field.

 

The Pharisees were concerned about keeping the Sabbath but not about showing love to a man with a handicap condition. Jesus wants mercy, not sacrifice (Hos.6:6; Mic 6:6-8). The Pharisees knew these words but had completely missed their practical implications. We are not to use people but serve them. Jesus shows that the “burden” of the Sabbath is to do good by meeting people’s needs. For the Pharisees, healing on the Sabbath was lawful only if a life was in danger. Jesus declares that it is always lawful, and in fact, it is an obligation to do good on the Sabbath. This conclusion should be applied to everyday living.

 

 

Jesus is the Stronger Man who has invaded satan’s house, overcome him, taken his weapons, and is now claiming his spoils (Eph. 1:15-23). Put on the armor and join Him in victory (Eph. 6:10ff). Jesus declared that it was absurd for the Pharisees to believe that satan would attack and defeat his own demonic forces. If that were to happen then satan would be destroying himself. Jesus had freed people from demons. Those in the crowd who attributed exorcism to the power of satan had corrupt hearts and could not speak good things or say anything ultimately truthful (James 3:2-12).

 

Beware of an empty life! It is a standing invitation for satan to go to work. In the spiritual war being waged today, you cannot be neutral. You are either for Him or against Him. If people clean up their lives and do not fill them with God, they are left vulnerable to even greater evil than what they were originally exposed to (I Pet. 5:8).

 

 

Please read the chapter listed so that you can understand God’s Word better.

If you have missed any lessons, you can go to: God Plans For You at https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com.

J. Vernon McGee Commentary and Nelson’s Quick Reference Commentary.

Dr. David Jeremiah.

Matthew 11 - John the Baptist Perplexed and Discouraged

 

Matthew 11 – John the Baptist Perplexed and Discouraged

 

John had served God faithfully and yet was in prison. His work was ended, and he was not sure that Jesus was ministering in the right way. When you find yourself in a similar situation, do what John did: tell it to Jesus and wait for His word (Isa. 35:4-6). Jesus answered John’s doubts with a report of His work. Jesus gave sight to the blind, healed the lame, the lepers, and the deaf and He raised the dead. Each of these acts was proof that Jesus was the Messiah.

 

John’s disciples did not hear Jesus praise the leader. John was not a compromiser or a celebrity; he was God’s greatest prophet. John was in prison because of a cruel king and a crowd that was childish instead of childlike. John prepared the way for the coming of the Messiah, but those in the kingdom experience its reality.

 

Leave the judgment to the Lord and wait for Him to fulfill His perfect plan. You may think you have failed, but God will see to it that your work is blessed. In fact, John won people to Jesus long after he was dead and buried (John 10:40-42). Surrender to Christ’s loving yoke and you will experience the perfect rest.

 

One of the most gracious commands in the Bible is Jesus’ invitation to come speaks to all who are oppressed by routine, monotony, overwork, responsibility, and tension. Those who are heavy laden endure something that is laid on them from an outside source, causing burnout. Jesus’ form of rest is not absence of work but rejuvenation and refreshment.

 

Please read the chapter listed so that you can understand God’s Word better.

If you have missed any lessons, you can go to: God Plans For You at https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com.

Nelson’s Quick Reference Commentary.

Dr. David Jeremiah Study Bible.

J, Vernon McGee Through the Bible

 

 

Matthew 10 - Spiritual Principles

 

Matthew 10 – Spiritual Principles

 

If the Lord calls you, He will equip you for the task He wants you to fulfill. It has been said, “The will of God does not send you where the grace of God cannot keep you.”

 

It is a wonderful privilege to be an ambassador for the King, but there is a price to pay. We are sheep among wolves, sword bearers, and cross bearers. The world hates us because it hates Him. (Phil. 3:10). To avoid being deceived by evil, we are to live in humility, gentleness, and integrity among those to whom we minister. (Luke 10:3; rom. 16:18, 2 Cor. 12:16). Christians today can also trust the Holy Spirit to give them the words to say when they must defend their faith or are persecuted for it.

 

Christ wants us to give freely to others. The apostles had power to do miracles, but even giving a cup of cold water is service to the Lord. Everything we have is a gift from God (John 3:27); and must be shared lovingly with others. We must live by faith and trust Him to provide.

 

If you fear God, you need fear nothing else (Psalm 112). You are precious to your Father; and He will care for you. God’s servants are immortal until their work is done. Christ ultimately came to earth to bring peace (Luke2:14), but when people choose to follow Jesus, they will often face division and conflict, even within their own households. To choose loyalty to family over loyalty to Christ disqualifies a person from being one of His disciples (Luke 14:25027).

 

 

Please read the chapter listed so that you can understand God’s Word better.

If you have missed any lessons, you can go to: God Plans For You at https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com.

Nelson’s Quick Reference Commentary.      J. Vernon McGee Through the Bible

Dr. David Jeremiah Study Bible.