Life Project Blog

Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. A large crowd followed him, and he healed all who were ill. He warned them not to tell others about him. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:

“Here is my servant whom I have chosen,
the one I love, in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him,
and he will proclaim justice to the nations.
He will not quarrel or cry out;
no one will hear his voice in the streets.
A bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out,
till he has brought justice through to victory.

In his name the nations will put their hope.”

Matthew 12:15-21

This passage takes place immediately after the passage we discussed last time, Matthew 12:1-14, and it is a continuation of the action. Thus, the Pharisees wanted to kill Jesus after He outsmarted and outflanked them in the healing of the man’s hand, and Jesus withdrew, followed by crowds. He healed everyone in the crowd, still on the Sabbath mind you, and this brief discourse followed.

Considering the resumption of the previous narrative that begins in verse 22, this discourse can be looked at as a sort of interruption that reminds the reader of just who Jesus is, yet for me, it appears that Matthew isn’t using this as a literary device to remind us, even though I would imagine that the Holy Spirit was doing so in the way that events unfold in this chapter. In both cases however, we are pointed to the character and mission of the Christ in these verses.

So, knowing what the Pharisees were thinking, Jesus withdraws, heals many more people on the Sabbath, and tells the people not to tell others about Him. Looking at this, and the quotation that follows, it seems clear to me that Jesus is not asking them to keep quiet out of fear of the Pharisees and their plotting, but because of the very nature of His mission; Jesus never goes out of His way to draw attention to Himself, for He has no interest in becoming a celebrity, for His mission is to do the will of His Father, not to make a name for Himself. Personally, I think we can take a lesson from His example.

Matthew seeks to once again connect Jesus with Israel’s past by relating His simple request of the people to keep quiet about Him, to the prophecy of Isaiah 42:1-4. If you compare Isaiah to Matthew, you will notice some slight variation. Often New Testament authors quote the Septuagint in their Old Testament quotations, but that isn’t the case here. Either this is Matthew’s interpretation of the text, or it is his own translation from the original… or both. Whatever the case may be, he makes it clear that Jesus will be denounced by the Jewish leaders because He is God’s humble servant. Those very leaders see themselves as God’s servants, and this is what they should be, and to be fair to them, maybe they really were God’s servants.

Yet, in no way were they ever God’s humble servants, for in the end, their total lack of humility would be their downfall. I think we can learn much from the example of the Pharisees…

Matthew 12:1-14

Matthew continues his narrative in this section which highlights the growing opposition to Jesus in certain Jewish circles. Notice as you read the verses that the disciples of Jesus are right in the middle of the controversy; didn’t they go out on a mission of harvest?  You may recall that chapter 10 was all about Jesus preparing to send them out, then they aren’t mentioned in chapter 11 and here they are in chapter 12. Are they back now? Did they ever go out? Was Jesus’ preparations and instructions intended only for the future after Pentecost?

Matthew doesn’t make this issue clear, and I’ll let you ponder it on your own…

They are walking through a grain field on the Sabbath, and the disciples pick a few heads of grain to eat, and the Pharisees jump in: Holy heart attack! They are harvesting on the Sabbath! (12:1-2)

Jesus refutes their allegations with examples from the Scriptures (12:3-7) and then concludes with an amazing statement in verse 8: “For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath”

Matthew continues the narrative:

Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to bring charges against Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” (12:9-10)

When Jesus entered the synagogue, what was He thinking; was it His intention to heal the man with the injured hand? The text doesn’t say, it doesn’t even tell us if Jesus knew about the man being there, and the Pharisees would have had no way to know what was in His mind at that moment, so leaving nothing to chance, they set Him up, paragons of virtue that they were. It would be my guess that His answer wasn’t exactly what they expected:

He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” (12:11-12)

Look very carefully at His answer, and then re-read the question. Did you notice that Jesus answered a question they didn’t ask? Notice that they asked if it was legal to heal someone on the Sabbath, and that the answer was that is legal to do good on the Sabbath. To heal someone on the Sabbath is a specific action that they wanted to use in bringing an indictment against Him, but to do good is a vague generality that most people would have difficulty in objecting to; it isn’t a specific action that is “actionable” in the legal sense, or in plain English: it really isn’t anything with a legal basis for dispute.

Now, look carefully and see what Jesus actually did:

Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other (12:13).

Jesus asked the man to stretch out his hand, and lo and behold, the hand was perfectly fine. I guess there wasn’t anyone there who needed healing after all!

Now dear readers, those of you who are amateur lawyers and sleuths, what did Jesus do? Did He heal the man, or was the man already fine? If you think He healed the man, then when exactly did He do it? What is your evidence? Did you see Him heal the man?

Do you recall the advice that Jesus gave the disciples in 10:16, that they should be as “shrewd as snakes and harmless as a dove”? Here is one of the best examples of that in all of Scripture.

The Pharisees, realizing that He had outsmarted and outflanked them, were somewhat less than pleased at this:

But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus (12:14).

I’m sure that you noticed the change in their attitude; they wanted a basis to file charges against Jesus, now they just want to kill Him.

At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.

“All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Matthew 11:25-30

Still speaking in reference to the towns He listed in the last section, Jesus extends His offer of grace; there is still time to repent. He begins praising God the Father for the way that He has hidden His salvation from the “wise and learned” while revealing it to “little children”.

At first glance, this might seem to a little odd; to praise God for hiding His truth, but look again; that isn’t what Jesus is saying at all. The only ones that find the truth of the Gospel to be hidden are the “wise and learned”; the simple can see it easily… if they want to. The wise ones have problems because they want to analyze things with the wisdom of this world. Look at it this way: Philosophy is an inquiry into the great questions of life. The Gospel answers the great questions of life; why don’t the great philosophers accept the Gospel in most cases?

Two things come to mind right away: One is that the Gospel is not a human philosophy, but a revelation from God; philosophers aren’t looking for that in their quest to figure it all out by themselves. Two, the Gospel is simple and not at all convoluted as philosophy usually is.

Jesus offers another explanation: Only the Father knows the Son, only the Son knows the Father, other than those the Son chooses to show the Father to. The only way to the Father is by the Son, and the wise and learned ones seek to find their own way to His truth.

In the final verses of the chapter, Jesus offers to all the chance to come to Him. It isn’t too hard, it isn’t too complicated; it only requires a response.

Then Jesus began to denounce the towns in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades. For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.”

Matthew 11:20-24

In these verses, Jesus turns to the towns in which He performed miracles and taught, and noting their lack of repentance, He, well… He let them have it!

I suppose that a commentator can go in multiple directions with this text, but as I see it, there is really only one lesson from this text that is important for us to master: Repentance.

To repent means to turn away from something, in this case it means to turn away from our old way of living, and live for Christ and His Kingdom. I must add a note of caution here; it doesn’t mean to feel bad, it means to do something. You see the difference; right? If I feel bad, I’m not changing anything, I’m just feeling bad. To repent requires action, the turning away from our old ways; we may or may not feel sad or guilty or whatever, we just do.

Imagine what Jesus is saying here: These people who had listened to His teaching and witnessed His miracles, or even received a miraculous healing; they were duly amazed, and then went on with life as usual: It’s hard to believe.

Or is it?

No, come to think of it, it isn’t hard to believe at all; we do it all the time. I know so many preachers who see a problem, and what do they do? Most often, they preach a sermon, maybe even a really great one, and then nothing whatsoever happens and they are discouraged. Everyone who heard the sermon said a loud “Amen!”

Then they went home and carried on in the same way, while thinking their neighbor missed the mark.

So, what lesson should we learn from this text?

Something about a guy with a plank in his eye trying to get a speck of dust from his neighbor’s eye comes to mind, the idea of looking in the mirror comes to mind− are we following Jesus or are we just believing in Him?

Jesus has a little more to say on this subject, and we’ll see what it is next time…

Matthew 11:1-19

A new section of the book opens in 11:1; a section that continues through chapter 14 in which Jesus’ ministry is viewed in light of the rejection of certain groups of Jews. We begin with the change of scene in verse 1 in which Matthew tells us that after giving the disciples their instruction, Jesus went out to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee. His activities here are much the same as they had been before, when some of John the Baptist’s disciples bring Him a question from John, who is in prison:  “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”

Jesus gives them an interesting reply to convey to John: Go and tell him what you have seen… and then He adds something else: “Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me” (10:6). John was the one who was called to prepare the way for Jesus; he must not stumble now that he is in prison. Could it be that John, like so many others, had expected a Messiah who would come to settle old scores and rise up a new, earthly and political Israel?

After giving His answer, Jesus continued addressing the crowd, now speaking of John. In verses 7-10, He confirms both His own identity and John’s by recounting just exactly who John was, and the fact that he was sent to prepare Jesus’ way onto the scene, quoting from the prophet Malachi. In 11 ff. Jesus continues:

Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence, and violent people have been raiding it. For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. Whoever has ears, let them hear. (11:11-15)

With these words, 2 things are clear: First, yes, John was the real messenger of God, and second, something is amiss, for their Messiah and God’s Kingdom are under attack by the forces of darkness. He continues:

“To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others:

“‘We played the pipe for you,
and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge,
and you did not mourn.’

For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved right by her deeds.” (11:16-19)

Jesus goes on in these verses to compare the people of that generation to children who are playing their games and complaining about everything. One group complains that nobody is dancing, the other group that nobody is mourning; neither is happy. They complained about John’s austerity, they complain about Jesus’ festivity…

Why are they really complaining?

So they can deflect attention and avoid making a choice to either follow or reject the message they are hearing, but what they are overlooking is that their avoidance is indeed their decision, and their fate is already sealed.

Sound familiar to anyone?

“There is nothing new under the sun.”

Matthew 10:32-42

As Jesus wraps up His instructions to His disciples before sending them on their mission to bring in the harvest, He moves into some disturbing territory. Remember that He has just told them of the opposition they will face, and given them some comfort using the lowly sparrow as an example; now He sums up the point He has made:

Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven. (10:32-33)

I have a suspicion that these words were ringing in Peter’s head on that fateful night when He denied knowing Jesus not once, but three times, as they might ring in our minds from time to time. The disciples are being sent out to preach the Kingdom and Jesus; there will be pressure to keep quiet, and perhaps even to renounce Him.

The Kingdom of Heaven is a powerful thing, for it brings with it the power to unite people together to do God’s will on the earth, but even as it unites some, it also brings about a different sort of response in others. The response of those others, is not always entirely rational, even though it may appear rational at first, for the Kingdom of Heaven coming to the earth is the worst nightmare of the Enemy who seeks to usurp God’s Creation for himself. The result is an earthly manifestation of a spiritual war that few can even begin to comprehend, let alone acknowledge:

Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn

“‘a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—
a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household. (10:34-36)

This is the part of the “Christmas Story” that you probably will not hear about on Christmas Eve as we talk about “Peace on earth” and “Goodwill toward men” leaving out the rest of the verse “in whom his favor rests”. To put it in military terms, when Jesus came to the earth, God was mounting an invasion of enemy held territory, and the enemy has been returning fire the entire time; this is what Jesus is referring to in these verses.

I remember when I blogged through Revelation, I received an email from a very dear brother who expressed some level of frustration with the study; there was so much in it that deals with spiritual warfare. His thought was along the lines of: “OK, I get it, there is persecution and some will get hurt, why go over this so many times?” The obvious answer is that John went over it so many times, but the real and important reason is that we really don’t get it yet. Spiritual warfare isn’t a metaphor or an academic concept and it certainly is not a child’s ghost story; it is as real as the morning news, and it is going on all around us whether we want to admit it or not.

Jesus put it in very personal terms for His disciples in this passage, as He quoted from Micah 7:6. He went on to say:

Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me.  Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it. (10:37-39)

His last remark about losing and finding life is the key: The everyday lives we lead here in this world are not life at all, if they are apart from Him, for they will soon come to an end, one way or another. The life we should concern ourselves with is that life which is eternal; part of the eternal purpose of God.

The final three verses of the discourse take a more pleasant tone:

“Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.” (10:40-42)

No human who hears the message of the Kingdom needs to perish, but all who hear it must decide what to do with it. Some will accept, and some will reject, and the battle lines will be drawn. For those who accept, eternity is secure; for those who reject… they will also reap their reward.

The problem with going through entire books of the Bible is that we don’t get to pick out the fun parts and move past the hard parts; this is a hard part. It isn’t hard because it’s difficult to understand, it just isn’t “pleasant” as most of us would like. Yet it reveals much about our lives today, about what is going on in our world, and how we should respond to it. It also helps us to look forward to the day when pain, suffering and tears are but distant memories, and all evil is gone from the earth.

“The student is not above the teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for students to be like their teachers, and servants like their masters. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household!

“So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

Matthew 10:24-31

As Jesus prepares His disciples to be sent out to the harvest, He now takes the discussion, made up of instructions and warnings so far, and relates it to the relationship He has with the disciples. You will recall that in 9:34, after Jesus drove out a demon and restored speech to the afflicted man, some Pharisees said that He had done so by the power of the “prince of demons”, He is now telling the disciples that when they go out to proclaim the Kingdom, their opponents will say the same things about them. His rationale for this is simple; they are His servants, and the servant will be treated the same way as their master. Since Jesus is (and will be) encountering opposition, so will we.

Oh, and now you know the name of the “prince of demons”.

The disciples need not fear their oppressors; they need not worry that their evil deeds will go unnoticed or that they will get away with anything, for the disciples are under the Father’s protection, and anyone who harms them will be called to account; there is no getting around that fact. Rather than be concerned with their own safety in doing God’s will, they would do better to worry about what might happen if they should work to hinder His will.

Jesus wraps up this thought with the example of a sparrow. Who watches out for sparrows? Actually, we could ask something like: Who cares at all about sparrows?

Jesus gives us an answer: His Father in heaven cares about each and every single insignificant sparrow on the planet, and nothing happens to a single little sparrow that He doesn’t know about.

That is a staggering thought…

So then, if you or I, as God’s servants, on “Official Business” are harmed by a servant of the Enemy, can that happen without note being taken on high?

I really doubt it.

This discussion runs much deeper than the short journey the Twelve were sent on, for it runs through this entire age, from Pentecost until Jesus returns, and Jesus is speaking here to us, just as much as He was speaking to them. They went out and conducted their business will we?

Next time, we will see even more of Jesus’ comments… see you then.