Written by: Gareth Godfrey
Matthew 11 v 25-30
At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because
you have hidden these things from the people who are wise and clever. But you
have shown them to those who are like little children. Yes, Father, this is
what you really wanted.
“My Father has given me all things. No one knows the Son, except the Father.
And no one knows the Father, except the Son and those whom the Son chooses to
tell.
“Come to me, all of you who are tired and have heavy loads, and I will give you
rest. Accept my teachings and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in
spirit, and you will find rest for your lives. The teaching that I ask you to
accept is easy; the load I give you to carry is light.”
Notes
In his prayer, Jesus openly referred to God as Father. This was a big deal
for the Jews, as nobody referred to God in such an intimate way. The same
God who made heaven and earth and put the stars into place, Jesus called
Father.
Jesus also paid God the Father the respect he deserves and acknowledged his power and authority. We also should remember who God is when we come to him. He is also our Father - however, he is also God. If his own Son paid him respect, how much more should we?
We now come to one of the most powerful statements from Jesus. ALL things have been given to him from God. Not just some, or a few things, but everything in the universe! Wow. Some people would say that Jesus was a good teacher but nothing more. Here Jesus cut this lie down. He stated that no one can know the Father expect by going through him - that Jesus knows God intimately, and God knows Jesus intimately, and we can only know God by coming to Jesus Christ. There is no other route to knowing God.
Do you know how Jesus described himself? Gentle and humble - and he is calling people today to be with him, to take up his “yoke” and to follow his teaching.
He will supply us with the times of rest that we need. This doesn’t mean skipping the world and leaving our troubles behind us; rather, God giving us a break when we need it then from the things that bother us. Not because we deserve it, but because he loves us. For no other reason.
God loves you. God wants to know you, and for you to know him. What are you going to do?
Prayer
Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for loving me for who I am. Lord, help me to know
you better, to understand more about you, to follow your teaching, and to
live as you want me to live. Lord, I ask for the rest that you promised.
Lord Jesus, be with me today I pray. Amen
Matthew 12 v 1-8
At that time Jesus was walking through some fields of grain on a Sabbath day.
His followers were hungry, so they began to pick the grain and eat it. When
the Pharisees saw this, they said to Jesus, “Look! Your followers are doing
what is unlawful to do on the Sabbath day.”
Jesus answered, “Have you not read what David did when he and the people with
him were hungry? He went into God’s house, and he and those with him ate the
holy bread, which was lawful only for priests to eat. And have you not read
in the law of Moses that on every Sabbath day the priests in the Temple break
this law about the Sabbath day? But the priests are not wrong for doing that.
I tell you that there is something here that is greater than the Temple. The
Scripture says, ‘I want kindness more than I want animal sacrifices.’ You don’t
really know what those words mean. If you understood them, you would not judge
those who have done nothing wrong.
“So the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath day.”
Notes
Yet again the Pharisees were getting the wrong end of the stick. What was their
problem? Well, they had outlawed certain types of work on the Sabbath, including
reaping and preparing meals. This seems petty to us in our 24/7 culture -
all they were doing was picking grain - but the Pharisees had reduced their
faith to a strict list of rules and regulations.
Not so Jesus. He was more concerned about human needs, and was motivated by love and compassion. He met the Pharisees on their own turf, using an Old Testament story to show where they had gone wrong. Jesus reminded them that when David’s men were starving, they scoffed the Holy Bread from within the Temple.
Jesus also reminded them that the law given to Moses did not ban all forms of work. What about the priests performing their Sabbath duties? Was this wrong? Note that Jesus did not dismiss the law or mock it; it was not the law that was wrong but their use of it. God’s law was given for our good, and Jesus knew that. The Sabbath principles of rest and remembering God’s goodness are as important now as then.
Jesus came to take away the punishment of broken laws, not to take away the law itself. We need to learn to live in glad obedience to God’s rules, understanding that while they do us good, they don’t make us good.
Prayer
Dear Lord, thank you for giving me your rules to help me live the best way.
Help me today to do the things you want me to - to find the true principles
of your nature, your love and compassion, and to live these out. But more
than anything, thank you for Jesus. Because of him, no matter how badly I
mess up I can still know you in a real way. Amen
Matthew 12 v 9-14
Jesus left there and went into their synagogue, where there was a man with
a crippled hand. They were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they
asked him, “Is it right to heal on the Sabbath day?”
Jesus answered, “If any of you has a sheep, and it falls into a ditch on the
Sabbath day, you will help it out of the ditch. Surely a human being is more
important than a sheep. So it is lawful to do good things on the Sabbath day.”
Then Jesus said to the man with the crippled hand, “Hold out your hand.” The
man held out his hand, and it became well again, like the other hand. But the
Pharisees left and made plans to kill Jesus.
Notes
At the start of this passage we find Jesus in the synagogue. The Pharisees
had followed him and were looking for any excuse to come down hard on him.
They wanted to find any reason they could to charge him with a crime. Some
people will always look for the negative in others, trying to score points
and put people down. This was not Christ’s approach, and it should not be
ours.
In search for a charge to make, the Pharisees tackled Jesus on the issue of healing on the Sabbath. Would Jesus allow “work” on the Sabbath?
The answer he gave emphasised the difference between the Pharisees with their law and the principles Jesus set down. In comparing the action they would take to find and rescue a stranded sheep against helping another person, Jesus clearly showed where his passion lay. We mean far more to him than any man-made law, or animal come to that. If it is right to help an animal on the Sabbath, how much more to help other humans in need.
Jesus is full of love and mercy for us and for his creation. He is less interested in obeying rules and regulations and far more interested in showing compassion and helping people. Jesus not only felt compassion for the man, but he also expressed it physically by healing him.
In what way is God calling you to express compassion and love to those around you? Do you see people in the same light that God does, as precious in his sight?
Prayer
Heavenly Father, show me your love and mercy. Give me the compassion you have,
Lord, and give me the strength to live this out. Help me, Lord, to live caring
for others and valuing them as you do - as precious and valuable in your
sight. Amen
Matthew 12 v 15-21
Jesus knew what the Pharisees were doing, so he left that place. Many people
followed him, and he healed all who were sick. But Jesus warned the people
not to tell who he was. He did these things to bring about what Isaiah the
prophet had said:
“Here is my servant whom I have chosen.
I love him, and I am pleased with him.
I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will tell of my justice to all people.
He will not argue or cry out; no one will hear his voice in the streets.
He will not break a crushed blade of grass or put out even a weak flame until
he makes justice win the victory.
In him will the non-Jewish people find hope.”
Notes
We should not be surprised that Jesus knew the thoughts and actions of the
Pharisees. His Father in heaven is the Living God, after all. However, Jesus
decided that his time had not yet come, so he went away. His destiny was
to be completed later.
But he did not go alone. Wherever he went, hordes of people followed. Jesus seemed to welcome these crowds. Indeed, he even healed the sick. He also spoke to them, warning that they should not tell who he was.
Perhaps this was Jesus backing away from a confrontation with the authorities, not wanting to hailed as a king or any other such title. How different from today’s world, where everyone is seeking their fifteen minutes of fame and publicity. Are we willing to do amazing things for God and not be praised by others? Only to receive God’s blessing?
We see from the quotation from Isaiah that God was pleased with Jesus and loved him. In the same way that I am pleased when my little boy does something I ask him to, so God was pleased with Jesus. He was carrying out God’s great scheme for mankind.
What is this great scheme and plan? That Jesus tells of God’s justice to all people; that all people find hope in him. This was not restricted to the Jews – it was for all.
I recently heard a definition of hope: “the happy expectation of good”. The Christian hope is that mankind will find good in Jesus.
What is your expectation for life? What do you expect from God?
Prayer
Dear God, thank you that in a world that sometimes seems hopeless, I can find
hope in you by expecting good to happen, even in bad circumstances. Help
me to follow your example by expressing that hope to other people, even if
I don’t get praised by others. Amen
Matthew 12 v 22-29
Then some people brought to Jesus a man who was blind and could not talk, because
he had a demon. Jesus healed the man so that he could talk and see. All the
people were amazed and said, “Perhaps this man is the Son of David!”
When the Pharisees heard this, they said, “Jesus uses the power of Beelzebul,
the ruler of demons, to force demons out of people.”
Jesus knew what the Pharisees were thinking, so he said to them, “Every kingdom
that is divided against itself will be destroyed. And any city or family that
is divided against itself will not continue. And if Satan forces out himself,
then Satan is divided against himself, and his kingdom will not continue. You
say that I use the power of Beelzebul to force out demons. If that is true,
then what power do your people use to force out demons? So they will be your
judges. But if I use the power of God’s Spirit to force out demons, then the
kingdom of God has come to you.
“If anyone wants to enter a strong person’s house and steal his things, he
must first tie up the strong person. Then he can steal the things from the
house.”
Notes
Spirituality has become almost a background reality in today’s world. Newspapers
and magazines are full of horoscopes. We see celebrity mediums and mystics
partaking in, or even hosting, prime-time TV shows. Discussions on how lives
are affected by the spirit world continue to fill radio shows. Society has
accepted a lot of this as normal.
Yet one aspect that has not been believed or accepted is the evil side of spirituality.
Jesus healed a man who had been possessed by a demon, and the man was then able to talk and see. The average man in the street, we are told, saw this as confirmation of the power of Jesus and who he was. “Perhaps this man is the Son of David!” they exclaimed.
Not so the teachers of the day. They saw Jesus’ act of freeing the possessed man as Satan turning out his own demons, and claimed that he was from the devil himself. Jesus soon turned their argument on its head. Not only would the same be true for the teachers who were also healing people, but it would also mean that Satan was fighting his own power.
The Pharisees had at least grasped one idea that we seem to have forgotten totally - there are two elements to the spirit realm: one good, and the other evil. They did not, however, recognise that God’s power had been displayed in front of them and that Jesus had indeed defeated Satan.
In your spiritual life, which side of the fence are you on? The side that is from God, which is good and uplifting, or the side that is full of evil and destruction? The victory in Christ is already assured. He has already “[tied] up the strong person”.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, help me to understand your awesome power, that you have indeed
defeated Satan. Help me, Lord, to hold on to the things that are pure and
holy, which are from you, and keep me safe from all things that are not.
Lord, I ask for your guidance. Amen
Matthew 12 v 30-32
“Whoever is not with me is against me. Whoever does not work with me is working
against me. So I tell you, people can be forgiven for every sin and everything
they say against God. But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not
be forgiven. Anyone who speaks against the Son of Man can be forgiven, but
anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, now or in
the future.”
Notes
For many people, Jesus’ words in this passage are some of the most difficult
to read and the most difficult to understand.
Jesus was drawing a clear and distinctive line in the sand. We are either for him or against him - there is no middle ground. We are either working for and with Christ Jesus to spread his gospel, or we are working against him. This is the charge he laid at the Pharisees: that they were working against him and the will of God. This is a challenge that is still as relevant today.
This leads us to what many people refer to as the “unpardonable sin”. Speaking against the Holy Spirit is the one sin that can never be forgiven according to the Bible. But what is it?
Many Bible teachers have struggled with this. Some would say that the sin is calling good evil. It is calling the work of the Holy Spirit fruitless and worthless. If the Holy Spirit is the one person who convicts us of our sin, and a person were to blaspheme against him and disregard him, how can they ever come to faith in Jesus Christ?
If we call what is sinful good, and what is good sinful, how
can we ever realise we have done wrong in God’s sight and need forgiveness?
Prayer point
Today think seriously where you stand. Are you for or against Christ? Has the
Holy Spirit challenged you on areas of your life that need changing? Do not
ignore this prompting in your life. Your whole future will depend on your reaction.
Matthew 12 v 33-37
“If you want good fruit, you must make the tree good. If your tree is not good,
it will have bad fruit. A tree is known by the kind of fruit it produces.
You snakes! You are evil people, so how can you say anything good? The mouth
speaks the things that are in the heart. Good people have good things in
their hearts, and so they say good things. But evil people have evil in their
hearts, so they say evil things. And I tell you that on the Judgement Day
people will be responsible for every careless thing they have said. The words
you have said will be used to judge you. Some of your words will prove you
right, but some of your words will prove you guilty.”
Notes
The truth will out. No matter how hard we try to make a good impression or
be something we’re not, sooner or later our true colours will always show
through. Jesus said, “a tree is known by the kind of fruit it produces”.
People work out who the real you is by the way you live. If we want people to see Jesus through us, we have to become more like Jesus.
“The mouth speaks the things that are in the heart.” What we set our hearts on, the things we value, the priorities we have, the things that concern us, all of these make up who we are and influence what we do. At the same time, the more we understand in our heart how deep we are loved by Christ and what our eternal future is with him, the more our lives will be shaped by these truths.
Jesus also said, “If you want good fruit, you must make the tree good”. But how can we make ourselves good? The simple answer is that we can’t do it. Only God can do that. But we need to partner with God in this. We need to guard our hearts, regularly sift through the things we value, and reject the things that affect our relationship with God.
We need to guard what goes in, but we should also watch what comes out. How easy is it to hurt people with the things that we say or do? Once they are said, we can never take them back. In the end, all our words will be out in the open and we will be judged on the careless and thoughtless words spoken in anger and jest, as well as those spoken to encourage and build people up.
Prayer point
Before speaking to people today, ask yourself: Does God love this person? Would
I want to hear this myself? Would Jesus say this? And would I say this if
he was in the room with me?
Prayer
Lord, help me to speak to people as you would speak to them - with your love
and compassion. Amen
word-on-the-web uses the Scripture text taken from the Youth Bible, New Century Version (Anglicised Edition) copyright 1993 by Word Publishing Milton Keynes