Sin, Repentance, and Forgiveness

Matthew 18:15-35

Dealing with a Sinning Brother

15 "Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that 'by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.' 17 And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.

18 "Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

19 "Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them."

The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

21 Then Peter came to Him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?"

22 Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. 23 Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25 But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. 26 The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, 'Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.' 27 Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.

28 "But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, 'Pay me what you owe!' 29 So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.' 30 And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. 31 So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done. 32 Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. 33 Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?' 34 And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.

35 "So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses."

These passages speak to sin, repentance, and forgiveness as necessary and accountable for each other and from each other.  The first is the Lord’s word to us concerning those who sin against us and our expected responsibility in response.  First of all, we are responsible to tell that person their sin against us.  It is to be just between the two in private, not calling them out publicly in the presence of a crowd or published for lord to hear and read as politicians are so fond of doing in smear campaigns.  If they refuse to hear or admit their wrongdoing in wronging us, then we are called of necessity to bring a witness or two (Deuteronomy 19:15) to the refusal with us and try again with the hope that the offend repents and turns from continuing sin to reconciliation between you and him.  If the offender will still not confess and forsake the sin against you, then bring them to the church elders.  If they continue in refusing to hear and be reconciled to man and God, they are to be treated as one opposed to God and His people as the heathen and a tax collector.  The tax collectors were considered as betrayers of the Jewish people who sold out their own for gain in supporting the occupying Romans, and the heathen were those opposed to God and His people in hating His word and all righteousness.  Hard words to des the impenitent, but necessary for the good spiritual health of the body if repentance and reconciliation is refused.  The sentence of church discipline therefore imposed on the impenitent is essential to the good of all and the keeping of peace among the faithful.  God is the witness of the sentence when all else fails and stands with the witnesses gathered in His name to enact this discipline.  His kindness leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4) in due time for those who are called by His name.  

For those who are unforgiving and who seek vengeance, Jesus continued the lesson by answering the question of how many times we must forgive those who offend us by doing wrong to us.  He began by saying seventy times seven times, four hundred ninety if taken literally to illustrate the unending requirement to keep on forgiving as they confess yet still injure us with sin.  He led this statement into a parable of a king who was calling his debtors to account and forgave one who owed him much.  That king was moved with compassion and forgave him the debt, but the forgiven one did not seem appreciative and instead of forgiving another who likewise owed him a debt, he had him throw into debtor’s prison until he was paid back in full.  He did not learn the compassion to forgive as the mightier king above him had done for him.  His master was rightly angered and held the unrepentant and unloving sinner to account by the same sentence of suffering until he paid back the original forgiven amount that was rightfully due.  The moral of the parable was that we reap what we sow in regards to forgiveness.  We are to constantly remember how our Heavenly Father forgives us all in Christ and forgive all others who sin against us in return as the Lord’s Prayer reminds us in Matthew 6:12, 14-15 for our accountability to Him and forgiving grace to each other, even if it amounts to seventy time seven times every day.  Humility and appreciation for our own forgiveness for eternal consequences is the real key to forgiving others who sin against us. 

Greatest Humility of the Lost Sheep

Matthew 18:1-14 

Who Is the Greatest?

1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"

2 Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, 3 and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.

Jesus Warns of Offenses

6 "But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea. 7 Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!

8 "If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the everlasting fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

10 "Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven. 11 For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.

12 "What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying? 13 And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. 14 Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

The greatest among God’s people realize that they are lost sheep and humbly follow Him without pride of earning their rescue from continuing to the cliff of eternal destruction.  Jesus made it clear that this humility is required to be as a young child who takes Him at His word as truth and receives it and Him with trust in the truthfulness and need of His good news.  That is true kingdom greatness, along with accepting others who do the same in the same trusting humility of a faith that takes God at His word (John 1:12) and follows the Christ was our Good Shepherd when hearing His voice calling (John 6:44, 65, 68).  The warning He gave in conjunction with this is not to lead these innocent lambs into sin by false teachings that make sin acceptable or desirable as many false teachers love to do because they cast aside the truth of the word of God and His gospel of grace through faith in Christ alone.  Such will pay the price for their sin and Jesus made it abundantly clear that willfully continuing in sin is not truly following Him (1 John 3:6, 9, 5:18).  It is best to vehemently cast aside what causes us to sin and not listen to others who try to paint the idolatry and immortality as acceptable.  We are also called not to judge and condemn others who He is calling out of their sin, for they are all precious in His sight from the outlook of heaven above.  He came to seek out His sheep to save us from sin’s penalty and we need the same perspective that we are all just as lost in our equally appalling sin apart from Him and His forgiving grace of atonement on the cross.  Just as a human shepherd diligently seeks out the one missing lost sheep from his flock, so Jesus the Good Shepherd seeks out us and rejoices with the angels in heaven (Luke 15:7, 10) for our salvation from certain destruction that He brings us to!  It is not his will for any of those He chooses and calls to perish eternally.  He cares for His flock with love and longsuffering and so should we in all grace and humility.  May we therefore exhibit this greatest humility for the other lost sheep as He showed us. 

Trust and Obedience for Life

Matthew 17:14-27

A Boy Is Healed

14 And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, 15 "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. 16 So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him."

17 Then Jesus answered and said, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me." 18 And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour.

19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not cast it out?"

20 So Jesus said to them, "Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. 21 However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting."

Jesus Again Predicts His Death and Resurrection

22 Now while they were staying in Galilee, Jesus said to them, "The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men, 23 and they will kill Him, and the third day He will be raised up." And they were exceedingly sorrowful.

Peter and His Master Pay Their Taxes

24 When they had come to Capernaum, those who received the temple tax came to Peter and said, "Does your Teacher not pay the temple tax?"

25 He said, "Yes."

And when he had come into the house, Jesus anticipated him, saying, "What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take customs or taxes, from their sons or from strangers?"

26 Peter said to Him, "From strangers."

Jesus said to him, "Then the sons are free. 27 Nevertheless, lest we offend them, go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first. And when you have opened its mouth, you will find a piece of money; take that and give it to them for Me and you."

Jesus had to heal an epileptic boy brought to His disciples who they were unable to cure because they did not believe they could do so.  They did not fully trust the task given them to cure this difficult case in His name to point others to repentance and faith for salvation as it was entrusted to them.  The Lord pointed out that faith as small as a mustard seed could germinate and grow into much larger faith in action as if they could command a mountain to rise up and move elsewhere at their word.  He did lot literally intend for them to go around moving the landscape around but used this illustration to drive home the effect of faith put into practice and nurtured to grow into such larger results.  Remember that this faith to heal epileptic people and drive out demons was not the goal of faith, but rather the effect of others knowing the power of Jesus to heal the soul of the lost sheep by saving grace through repentance and faith in who He is and what He has done on the cross and resurrection from the dead.  It is trust in Him and obedience to His word to do the works given us (John 6:29) that matters.  He pointed out that power would come to us by Him being betrayed and crucified before rising from death to life to enable us to the same resurrection from death to life through obedience of faith in Him (John 5:24-25).  Jesus demonstrated that obedience Carrie’s into everyday life as well such as in paying temple taxes with the money given to the disciples for that obligation.  We do not have temples as such and do not sit under a government of theocracy like Israel, but we are obliged to pay taxes to whom they are due as the money we have is engraved with that government’s name (Luke 20:22, 24-25, Romans 13:1, 7).  Though all we possess is God’s wealth and not our own, we are to be obedient in submission to the governing authorities He has put over us to include our taxes and other laws which do not violate God’s laws according to His word.  To trust and obey the Lord in all things is the right way to live and do His work to bring many to hear the gospel of hope as the words of life (Acts 5:20, John 17:3, 1 John 5:11-13).  That is the greatest miracle we can facilitate to bear witness in word and deed to the gospel of our salvation as we trust and obey before God and man  because there is no other way to life! 

Shining Glory of God Shown

Matthew 17:1-13

Jesus Transfigured on the Mount

1 Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; 2 and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. 3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. 4 Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."

5 While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!" 6 And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid. 7 But Jesus came and touched them and said, "Arise, and do not be afraid." 8 When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.

9 Now as they came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, "Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead."

10 And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?"

11 Jesus answered and said to them, "Indeed, Elijah is coming first and will restore all things. 12 But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished. Likewise the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands." 13 Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist.

This glimpse into God’s shining glory was shown to the three closest disciples, Peter, James, and John, as Jesus chose them to come with Him to behold a small part of His true divine nature which He revealed on this mountaintop experience.  He was transfigured or transformed into the brightness of His glory (Ezekiel 1:28, Hebrews 1:3) like that of the sun to reveal that He was not just a man but also God as the exact image of Him.  Then they saw that Moses and Elijah appeared and spoke with Jesus there and they fearfully said how good it was to be there and see these things; they reacted by offering to build a place to worship Him there until the Father from heaven spoke from a bright cloud of His glory.  He told them to listen to His Son who pleased the Father.  They fell prostrate in fearful worship in the presence of the Almighty until Jesus touched them and took away their fear.  Then they looked up to only find Jesus to behold.  Such should be our response to the Son of Man and God when He reveals Himself to us as to Saul on the Damascus road (Acts 9:3, 5-6, 22:6-7), falling down and asking who He is and not letting ourselves seek to respond with religious acts but real worship of who He is and then follow Him to do as He asks without fear or question when we realize His glory revealed to us.  The three disciples were commanded not to tell this tale until after Jesus had risen from the dead which they likely did not full comprehend at that time, but they faithfully obeyed anyway.  They did ask Jesus after seeing Elijah speaking with Him and Moses about the scriptures saying that that prophet had to come to restore things before the Messiah came, which John the Baptist did as he proclaimed repentance and faith to God.  The religious leaders had moved the people to do what they wanted to him, killing and beheading John (Matthew 14:10) instead of hearing and heeding his warnings of the accountability of the judgment to come.  Jesus confirmed John was Elijah (Luke 1:17) who suffered death as Jesus was facing a similar death soon as the Son of Man also by their unbelieving hands.  May all who now hear the good news of the saving work of Jesus Christ consider these things and stop to listen and hear of the deliverance bought by Jesus that they may turn from sin to Him and escape that just judgment we all face apart from Him, and not kill the message with the messenger as the people of Israel did when God walked among us.  When a person is shown the shining glory of God revealed in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6), how can they do otherwise but follow Him? 

Confess and Follow The Christ Revealed!

Matthew 16:13-28

Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ

13 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"

14 So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."

15 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"

16 Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

17 Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."

20 Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.

Jesus Predicts His Death and Resurrection

21 From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.

22 Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!"

23 But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."

Take Up the Cross and Follow Him

24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works. 28 Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom."

The message of the gospel of the kingdom of God in Jesus Christ is to confess who He is and follow Him in faith to repentance from our dead works (Hebrews 9:14) and sin to trust His work on the cross for salvation from certain judgment (2 Thessalonians 1:7-8).  Peter answered as God gave Him the understanding to admit (confess) the truth that Jesus was the Christ, the Anointed Son of God come in flesh (John 1:14).  He was only able to say this as truth by the enabling understanding of the Holy Spirit of God revealed to him by the Heavenly Father, just as He enables all to confess who He has chosen and calls as lost sheep out of the darkness of this world marred by sin.  This confession of who Christ Jesus is has given him and the children of God who are collectively the Church, His body, the keys to the kingdom of heaven.  This solid foundation of the Rock is who we stand upon with absolute conviction and confidence until His return.  This new life given to we dead ones (Ephesians 2:8) by this confession by faith through repentance is the only foundation (1 Corinthians 3:10-11 , Ephesians 2:20-22) to build on, not any institution made by the hands of man apart from it.  Not even the gates of hell can destroy this invisible church comprised of all whom He calls to Himself (John 6:44, 65, 1 Peter 2:5).  Just as Jesus had his temple torn down and He raised it after three days, so our own promised resurrection in Him will surely come and we will stand at last before His face (Job 19:25-27, Revelation 22:3-4)!  Even the devil and hell itself is no match for the Creator of heaven and earth and all that is made by God’s hand.  Of course, since Peter was fallible flesh as we are, he faltered in faith and wanted Jesus not to suffer as He had to for us and was corrected on the spot.  Such denial of the necessity of suffering to purchase our salvation was a denial of faith and of God’s will and working!  That ignorant statement was inspired by Satan, not by God’s Holy Spirit.  We also must beware of our own stumbling and keep the promises of God in Christ constantly in view of our mind’s eye to avoid this pitfall.  Jesus then pointed out the cost of discipleship.  All of us who He calls to follow must die to ourselves on that cross as we bear it with Him because we are in Him.  This denial of self is life in Him through our death to our desires and what we live for.  There is no gain in gathering what we desire in place of all of heaven given to us to yearn and live for instead.  We only find true life worth living in Christ, life that continues eternally from now till the end of time and beyond.  Would we exchange anything we could have here for that?  I think not.  That was the comparison our Lord gave to His disciples and so to us as those following after in their footsteps after our common Lord and Savior.  What we can expect then as we follow faithfully is reward for our labors in the gospel and our resulting good works prepared for us to walk out in life (Ephesians 2:10, 1 Corinthians 3:14-15).  Those not giving up their lives to be transformed are utterly incapable to do these things and will taste death after dying in the end (Romans 6:9-11, Revelation 21:7-8).  May all who read these things confess and repent to follow Him above all else, and may we who have believed and received Him by faith through repentance (John 1:12) stand firmly upon that rock of unshakable confession (Hebrews 12:28) that Jesus Christ is the only Lord and Savior forever because of His work (John 6:29, Titus 3:5) alone.  Confess and follow the Christ revealed! 

Corrupt Teachers Seek Signs over Scripture

Matthew 16:1-12

The Pharisees and Sadducees Seek a Sign

1 Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven. 2 He answered and said to them, "When it is evening you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red'; 3 and in the morning, 'It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.' Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times. 4 A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah." And He left them and departed.

The Leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees

5 Now when His disciples had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. 6 Then Jesus said to them, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees."

7 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have taken no bread."

8 But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread? 9 Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up? 10 Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up? 11 How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread?—but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees." 12 Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Jesus taught the disciples to beware of the yeast of corruption that filled the corrupt and wicked religious teachings of the Pharisees and Sadducees.  These ignored the word of the Lord as it was written and imposed their own rules that negated or twisted God’s intent for His people.  They came to test Jesus to find if they would agree with them and not because they wanted to be certain He was who He claimed to be, the Messiah, to deliver them from such sin.  He told them a visual comparison of how they knew the coming weather by observing the sky, the meaning behind our modern saying of “red sky at night, sailor’s delight; red sky at morning, sailors take warning,” yet could not discern the spiritual climate of the times.  They could not comprehend that God had come among them after becoming a man (John 1:1, 14) to deliver them and instead demanded the divine prove Himself to them by conjuring up proof for them on demand.  Such false teaching still fills the world in the name of Christ, demanding we see miraculous signs and wonders to prove His working in salvation, prosperity, and healing.  Such would do best to hear and heed God’s word and live it out by bearing witness to the work of Christ earning our salvation for us in the gospel.  Jesus told the disbelieving naysayers that the only sign that they would be given was like the prophet Jonah who was buried for three days before rising into life as a picture of Jesus Christ dying for His own to pay sin’s debt and rise up from death to life (John 5:24) to prove we will receive the same resurrection as He did.  He made it clear that only a wicked and adulterous people would demand signs from heaven instead of hearing and believing the word God spoke to them (John 6:29).  The disciples assumed the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees was related to bread, but Jesus reminded His disciples of these things by calling them to remember how He multiplied five loaves for the five thousand and they had many baskets left over, and how seven loaves for feeding four thousand also left many large baskets for them.  It was not about bringing their own bread to eat but to eat of God’s provision as they heard and needed His word, which the bad teachers refused to acknowledge as they kept demanding God prove Himself instead of taking His word by faith and feeding on His faithfulness.  After the Lord explained what the yeast of bad bread was, then His followers understood that it was the bad teaching of false teachers that they were to be aware of, teachings that corrupted God’s word with the need to doubt and have the Lord prove Himself by putting on a show for them instead of trusting what He taught them to discern the spiritual climate of the times and of themselves.  He has given us all necessary things for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3) in the scriptures that we might take Him at His word for our deliverance from sin’s punishment as we see the storm of judgment day looming ahead in the red morning sun of threatening foul weather.  Corrupt teachers seek signs over scripture.  May we therefore also beware of seeking signs and wonders (1 Corinthians 1:22-23) instead of Christ crucified for us as the proof we need to acknowledge who He is and all we need for true spiritual health and wealth.  He died and rose again (1 Corinthians 15:52, 56-57) as the only proof we need!  Count the loaves! 

Faith, Deliverance, and Provision

Matthew 15:21-39

A Gentile Shows Her Faith

21 Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed."

23 But He answered her not a word.
And His disciples came and urged Him, saying,
"Send her away, for she cries out after us."

24 But He answered and said,
"I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

25 Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, "Lord, help me!"

26 But He answered and said,
"It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs."

27 And she said,
"Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters' table."

28 Then Jesus answered and said to her, "O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire." And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

Jesus Heals Great Multitudes

29 Jesus departed from there, skirted the Sea of Galilee, and went up on the mountain and sat down there. 30 Then great multitudes came to Him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus' feet, and He healed them. 31 So the multitude marveled when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.

Feeding the Four Thousand

32 Now Jesus called His disciples to Himself and said, "I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. And I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way."

33 Then His disciples said to Him, "Where could we get enough bread in the wilderness to fill such a great multitude?"

34 Jesus said to them, "How many loaves do you have?"
And they said, "Seven, and a few little fish."

35 So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. 36 And He took the seven loaves and the fish and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitude. 37 So they all ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets full of the fragments that were left. 38 Now those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. 39 And He sent away the multitude, got into the boat, and came to the region of Magdala.

Here Jesus answered a woman’s trust in His word and ability to make her daughter whole and many others who came and glorified God as He did the same for them.  He then multiplied the faith of His disciples and many more with a second miracle of multiplying bread and a few fish to meet their needs.  The first encounter with the woman who had a sick daughter at home who was inhabited with a demonic spirit fallen with the devil (Revelation 12:9) from heaven and who was out to destroy the people of God made in His image to keep them from following Jesus Christ.  She begged Him to heal her child but He told her that He came to save the chosen people of Israel as lost sheep of His pasture and not of the nations, but her humble faith asked for whatever mere crumbs of grace He could allow that her daughter would be set free as well.  Jesus praised her simple faith to trust His word and power to save and so set her child free from the bondage of the evil one as well as from her sin in the process.  He said she had great faith to trust Him with such humility that the people of the nation rarely displayed as they should have, considering all the promises of the chosen nation and the covenants given them.  After her daughter was healed, Jesus left and went up onto a mountain where many more who had seen and heard came to be set free of bondage and diseases that held them prisoner.  As Isaiah 35:5-6 foretold, God came among us to make the blind, deaf, mute, and lame whole and still the people marveled as if they had never read nor comprehended the scriptures!  They then gave all glory, honor, and praise to the Almighty in their midst (Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:23) who set them free at last, the God of Israel who is called Immanuel.  After these things, Jesus gathered the disciples together and told them of His compassion love for them which meant they needed sustenance of the body as well after three days without eating.  His disciples seemed to have forgotten the last time this happened (Matthew 14:16-21) and asked where they could get enough in the middle of nowhere to meet their needs.  Again Jesus started by asking what they did have and not what they seemed not to possess at hand.  This time it was seven loaves of bread and a few fish, little fish to be exact.  The Lord who is the Creator of heaven and earth and all upon it multiplied this feeble showing of what they had into more than enough once more to meet the needs of those He showed compassion for.  He gave them the example of giving thanks for all we have and kept taking more portions from the small amount of food until all had enough to eat and were filled; they did not just have a bite or two, but enough to fill their stomachs and meet their needs!  Then the remnants were gathered and found again to be more than they started with as a perfect number seven to reflect the divine nature of the miracle of His provision.  Only then did the Lord send the people away after they were fed, not before so they could journey far to get food.  He does this with us in our physical and spiritual needs by giving us overwhelming and overflowing provision to meet our needs according to our faith.  Such recollections of His work in our midst give us joy and hope in believing (Romans 15:13) as He provides such abundant provision (2 Corinthians 9:8).  Praise and thank Him for your deliverance from bondage and daily bread. 

Defiled Hearts of Tradition

Matthew 15:1-20

1 Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, 2 "Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread."

3 He answered and said to them, "Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, saying, 'Honor your father and your mother'; and, He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.' 5 But you say, 'Whoever says to his father or mother, "Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God"— 6 then he need not honor his father or mother.' Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. 7 Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:

8 'These people draw near to Me with their mouth,
And honor Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.
9 And in vain they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'"

10 When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, "Hear and understand: 11 Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man."

12 Then His disciples came and said to Him, "Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?"

13 But He answered and said, "Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. 14 Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch."

15 Then Peter answered and said to Him, "Explain this parable to us."

16 So Jesus said, "Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? 18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. 19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. 20 These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man."

Defiled hearts and minds demonstrate that outward rules kept to look good to others or measure oneself against a religious checklist cannot please God.  What comes out of our mouths and actions reflect the true fallen nature in need of cleansing and forgiveness through confession and repentance by sincere faith.  Jesus addressed this to the Pharisees who took issue with His disciples failing to for through the ritual hand cleansing before sitting down to eat. Now the original intent of God for cleanliness according to scripture was for their health as well as to teach His people to discern the clean from the unclean which was to learn to discern right and wrong, not to establish checklists for righteousness through serving the rituals.  When the religious authorities derided Jesus like this He turned the truth back on them as He pointed out how they justified unrighteousness by their works meant to earn and display it.  Jesus exposed a particular way they explained away their responsibility to parents by claiming that what they promised to God’s temple overrode the command of God to care for them.  He called them two-faced liars in essence, for that is what a hypocrite is, an actor of pretense with sound and fury but meaning nothing as masks for show hid the true feelings and intentions behind them.  He reminded them of His word given through Isaiah 29:13 of those who offer mock worship by substituting their own teachings as command of God while leaving His commands abrogated by their own dishonoring substitutes.  By teaching these directives of themselves and overriding God’s word, they had only empty worship as a play for show instead of a life honoring and pleasing to the Lord.  He then left the Pharisees and explained to the hearers of His word how what comes out of the heart in words and actions is what is important, not what selected foods and rituals are quite ineffective at doing as their leaders had been instructing them.  Then the disciples pointed out that the Pharisees were offended by what Jesus had said and He reminded them that the blind will lead themselves to destruction and they were to listen to His word instead.  If God does not put a leader of God’s people in place,that one is doomed to failure and judgment.  He explained the parable plainly to clear up any confusion by the picture of food that is eaten ends up passing out of the body and is done away with, while what comes out of the mouth such as evil thinking, adultery, hatred and murder, sexual immorality, stealing, lying, and other blasphemes in words are the defiling moments of a sinful heart.  Contrarily, eating without ceremonial hand washing does not defile a person’s heart or mind.  Rituals do not please God but righteous hearts set on sincerely following God’s word form His righteousness in our conformity to Christ, which is our sanctification by God’s work of transforming grace in us.  May we therefore be alert to avoid making our own rules as necessary substitutes for biblical commands, principles, and practices.  Let us not add superfluous requirements to God’s people to mislead them from true worship and service as living sacrifices (Romans 12:1-2) as God pleasers and not man pleasers (1 Thessalonians 2:4) according to our own unnecessary traditions as equal to or overriding God’s instructions in the scriptures.  May we be wary of defiled hearts of tradition to avoid missing true worship of God according to His word as our authority. 

Faith to Walk on Water

Matthew 14:22-36

Jesus Walks on the Sea

22 Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. 23 And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there. 24 But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary.

25 Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. 26 And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out for fear.

27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid."

28 And Peter answered Him and said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water."

29 So He said, "Come." And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. 30 But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!"

31 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.

33 Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, "Truly You are the Son of God."

Many Touch Him and Are Made Well

34 When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret. 35 And when the men of that place recognized Him, they sent out into all that surrounding region, brought to Him all who were sick, 36 and begged Him that they might only touch the hem of His garment. And as many as touched it were made perfectly well.

Jesus immediately dismissed his disciples after the miraculous feeding of five thousand people come to Him to be healed in body and spirit according to His word.  While they headed to the boat to cross to the other side He sent the crowd home and took time to pray alone.  While praying the disciples’ tiny ship was tossed in boisterous waves of the sea overtaken by a windy storm.  Jesus of course knew this and had delayed His appearance to deliver them from the danger and fear of the circumstances.  He came walking on the water to comfort and save them in the middle of the night and so scared the disciples who likely imagined that a ghost was coming for them as they were about to die in the storm.  But Jesus called out to them with reassurance that it was He and told them not to fear the supernatural but have faith in Him to save.  Impetuous Peter immediately asked to be called out to join his Lord on the wave tops to test if it was really Jesus and not an apparition.  Jesus said, “come” and Peter began walking on the water by faith, one surging wave at time.  Then he looked around at the circumstances of the storm surrounded him and let fear overcome his faith in the Lord to allow him to walk on the water.  Peter of course began to sink as he cried, “Lord, save me!”  He was taken by the hand of Jesus and asked why Peter’s faith was so small to begin to doubt instead of continuing on to meet Him there on the water.  When they got back in the boat, immediately the storm’s wind and waves settled to calm and they all worshiped the divine Son of God who calmed the storm and brought them peace to take their fear away.  When they landed, Jesus continued to visually remind them of His divine nature by healing many who were brought to Him by those recognizing who He was.  He made many perfectly well and whole again by faith in His working.  We also are often like Peter, jumping in the stormy situation with trust in Jesus until the circumstances turn dangerous and we fear instead of trusting with the faith of His call to join Him in the storms of life as we demonstrate and preach the gospel by our witness to His ability to save out of all the storms and hopelessness of life because of our sin.  We need the initial faith of Peter to walk on these waters, but also the steadfastness not to let the circumstances take our eyes off Him and His working in us to give the faith and abilities we need to persevere.  We need to have Faith to Walk on Water, a trust in God’s work and watchcare over us as we follow Him.  He is the divine Son of God.  Trust Him, only trust Him.