A CHRISTIAN LOOKS AT MATTHEW’S GOSPEL

The little band of helpers – (iii) walking the talk

Reading: Matthew 10:5-8a Click to view passage

The twelve are not only to talk about the Kingdom, they are to back it up with the deeds of the Kingdom too. This passage reflects all they have just seen Jesus do, (9:18-34). Michael Green suggests we are to deal with this passage on two levels: (a) what it is saying to the original apostles and (b) what it is saying to us as we seek to be more committed. (i) Heal the sick (v8). The word “sick” here means “to be weak.” At the very least, we are to be the encouragers of the weak as Isaiah says, we are to “strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way,” (35:3). (ii) Raise the dead (v8). Human beings, left to themselves, are “dead” in their sins, (Ephesians 2:1). We need to show them that in Christ, they can be made alive. (iii) Cleanse the lepers (v8) For us this could be dealing with the pain of social suffering such as HIV Aids as well as leprosy. (iv) Casting out demons (v8). It would be wrong to equate emotional problems with demon possession. However Christian counselling can release people from being enslaved to very deep problems.

Meditation: How can I help those around me in a really constructive, life-giving way?

Prayer pointer: We need to be instruments of hope and peace., dealing with pain and problems

Matthew:61

A CHRISTIAN LOOKS AT MATTHEW’S GOSPEL

The little band of helpers – (ii) their task

Reading: Matthew 10: 1-5a

We noticed at the beginning of our study of Matthew that “disciple” (v1) means “learner,” they were people who followed a teacher expecting to learn from them. Jesus seems to have had a large group of “learners” many of whom were hardly more than “hangers-on.” However, from this group Jesus selected a smaller group of 12 he called “apostles” (v2) from the Greek “apostello” meaning “to send forth with a commission.” If you translate “disciple” as “learner” then you should translate “apostle” as “pioneer missionary” because that is the etymological meaning of the word.

There are other “apostles” in the New Testament but these 12 are special and haven’t been repeated in the church. The point for us, is do we want to move on from just being a “hanger-on learner” to something more committed? That is what Jesus wants.

Meditation: Just how committed am I?

Prayer pointer: Am I ready to move on from being a “hanger-on?”

A CHRISTIAN LOOKS AT MATTHEW’S GOSPEL

The little band of helpers (i) Jesus asks for help

Reading: Matthew 10:1-4

It is hardly possibly that Jesus couldn’t continue his ministry without human help. So it is much more likely that he sees after his death as the time when he will need help for his work is to continue, a time when men and women will be “God’s fellow workers,” (2Corinthians 6:1). However, there are three things we need to note about the little band of helpers Jesus had with him while he was on earth. (i) They were very ordinary people. The history of Christianity is not about an ordinary God who did wonderful things through extraordinary men and women. It is quite the reverse, it is about an extraordinary God who did things through very ordinary people. And you can only describe this very ordinary group as (ii) The rag-bag of the people of God. It is such an extraordinary mix, among them were people of no wealth, no education, no social standing, there were fishermen, a tax collector, an ardent nationalist, you couldn’t possibly have a greater mix of people. (iii) Then there were twelve. We are not sure why this number. It could be to reflect the twelve tribes in the old order, so now there are twelve apostles in the new Israel. Some sociologists say that twelve is the biggest number of people with whom we can have a meaningful relationship. One thing is clear, they were important. There are twelve foundation stones in the New Jerusalem, (Revelation 21:14).

Meditation: The “ordinariness” of the twelve tells me he can use anyone, even me.

Prayer pointer: Do I realize I am part of an amazing mix of people, the “rag bag” of the people of God?

A CHRISTIAN LOOKS AT MATTHEW’S GOSPEL

The God of big hugs

Reading: Matthew 9:36-38

Jesus had compassion on the “crowds”(v36) and longed to ease their pain. He had a mission to the marginalized, those who were “harassed and helpless.”(v36) “Harassed” is an interesting word, it can be used of a corpse that has been “flayed and mangled.” “Helpless” means to have been “knocked out” or “laid flat” as a man could be by wounds or alcohol. The “crowds” had been “mangled” and completely “knocked out” by life.

Their spiritual leaders, the Pharisees. should have been giving them strength to carry on but instead they added to their misery by giving them extra “religious” burdens.

In the Old Testament “El Shadai” is one of the great names for God. Often, in rather stayed English, it is translated “the many breasted one.” Alec Motyer always used to say it means “the God of big hugs.” That is a good description of Jesus here, he is the “God of big hugs.” That is what must motivate our evangelism. The context of Jesus’s observation that “the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few”(v37) is the “flayed and mangled” who have been completely “knocked out” by life. What must send us out is the desperate need of the crowd and the knowledge that it is only “the God of big hugs” who can help them.

Meditation: Do I really see the desperate need of the people around me?

Prayer pointer: I want to live each day as a disciple of the “God of big hugs.”

A CHRISTIAN LOOKS AT MATTHEW’S GOSPEL

What about my work?

Reading: Matthew 9:35

Yesterday we looked at the essential work of Jesus. As followers of Jesus we need to be involved in his work but the problem for most of us is that we don’t have the luxury of doing that all the time. So what about my work, the job that occupies most of my day? How do I regard it? Is it just a bore, a daily slog, something that I have put up with, simply a means of earning money to pay the bills, a waste of time? The word for “work” in Hebrew is the same as the word for “worship, (Avodah). That single thought totally revolutionized my attitude to work. Whether it is commuting or the daily grind at the office or doing the dishes when I get home, I can now tackle it with a new enthusiasm. No wonder Ruth Graham had a sign over her kitchen sink, “divine service is held here three times a day.” William Tyndale said, “There is no work better than another to please God; to pour water, to wash dishes, to be a cobbler or an apostle.”

Meditation: I must learn to turn my work into worship

Prayer pointer: I need help to turn my whole day into “divine service.”

Matthew:56

A CHRISTIAN LOOKS AT MATTHEW’S GOSPEL
What about my work?
Reading: Matthew 9:35 click to view passage

Yesterday we looked at the essential work of Jesus. As followers of Jesus we need to be involved in his work but the problem for most of us is that we don’t have the luxury of doing that all the time. So what about my work, the job that occupies most of my day? How do I regard it? Is it just a bore, a daily slog, something that I have put up with, simply a means of earning money to pay the bills, a waste of time? The word for “work” in Hebrew is the same as the word for “worship, (Avodah). That single thought totally revolutionized my attitude to work. Whether it is commuting or the daily grind at the office or doing the dishes when I get home, I can now tackle it with a new enthusiasm. No wonder Ruth Graham had a sign over her kitchen sink, “divine service is held here three times a day.” William Tyndale said, “There is no work better than another to please God; to pour water, to wash dishes, to be a cobbler or an apostle.”

Meditation: I must learn to turn my work into worship
Prayer pointer: I need help to turn my whole day into “divine service.”

A CHRISTIAN LOOKS AT MATTHEW’S GOSPEL
How Jesus worked
Reading: Matthew 9:35 click to view passage

In this one verse we see the essential work of Jesus during his earthly ministry before the cross. He was (i) a herald “preaching the good news of the Kingdom.” Literally “heralding” the good news of the Kingdom. A herald was a man who brought a message from a king. Jesus brought mankind a message from God. A great headmaster, Geoffrey Heawood, wrote, “The tragedy of our time is we are standing at the crossroad and the signpost has fallen down.” We need to be “heralds” who point the way. Jesus was (ii) a teacher. It is not enough to “herald” the certainties of the spiritual life, we need to show their relevance to the people of our time as Jesus did. Paul hired the hall of Tyrannus in Ephesus and taught there for two years, (Acts 19:9). Jesus was (iii) a healer. Jesus didn’t just talk about the Kingdom of God. He healed the sick, fed the hungry and comforted the burdened. Belief must issue in action. If belief doesn’t affect our behaviour it is not the sort of belief that the New Testament has in mind.

Meditation: How can I be a “herald” signpost that points the way to the Kingdom of God today?

Prayer pointer: I need the sort of belief that transforms itself into action.

A CHRISTIAN LOOKS AT MATTHEW’S GOSPEL
Streetwise Jesus goes indoors
Reading: Matthew 9:27-31 click to view passage

We are used to the fly-ridden faces of the sick in disaster areas of the world. Because of a similar lack of hygiene and the intensity of the sunlight, blindness was a recurring problem in the Palestine of New Testament times.

We have already noted that these men called Jesus, “Son of David”(v27). This is a title often used by people who hadn’t had a first-hand encounter with him. It underlines the popular understanding of the Messiah as someone who would deal with Israel’s enemies especially Rome.
Jesus doesn’t seem to want to deal with their problems out in the street, it is only “indoors”(v28) when these men are apparently alone with Jesus that he begins to sort out their problem.


Meditation: Think about the fact that Jesus appears to have compelled these men to meet him alone. Am I spending enough time alone with Jesus for him to deal with my problems?
Prayer pointer: What is holding me back from having a simple one-to-one with Jesus?

A CHRISTIAN LOOKS AT MATTHEW’S GOSPEL
One of the untouchables
Reading: Matthew 9:20-22 click to view passage

Quite apart from her gynaecological problem, this poor woman, was regarded as “unclean.” Not only was she unclean, but everything she touched became unclean. This meant she wasn’t allowed to worship or have contact with anyone. (Leviticus 15:25-27). Mark tells us she had spent all her money consulting every possible source of help and all that had happened was the problem had got worse, (Mark 5:26).

Despite her timidity and lack of courage she is another good example of faith. Somehow she has the (i) knowledge that Jesus could heal her. She has (ii) belief, “If only I can touch his cloak, I will be healed,” (v22). She (iii) trusts, “she came up behind him and touched his cloak”(v20). The “edge” of the cloak (v20) is normally translated “fringe” in the Old Testament. In Hebrew it is “zizith” which refers to the four blue tassels that the Law required every Jews to have in each corner of his outer garment (Number 15:37-41 and Deuteronomy 22:12).
Her faith seems to have overcome her timidity and embarrassment concerning her problem.

Meditation: Think how Jesus will not turn us away however timid or embarrassed we might feel about our problems
Prayer pointer: I must conquer my fears and let Jesus deal with my problems.

A CHRISTIAN LOOKS AT MATTHEW’S GOSPEL
We mustn’t luxuriate in grief
Reading: Matthew: 9:18,19, 23-26 click to view passage

Matthew describes this incident more briefly than Mark and Luke, (Mark 5:21-43 and Luke 8:40-56). Reading the other accounts we learn that Jairus was quite an important man, as the ruler of the synagogue. He would have been elected from among the elders of the synagogue and was responsible for ordering the worship and choosing the readers, prayers and preachers.
The “noisy crowd” was the result of three Jewish customs associated with death. (i) The rending of garments. There were 39 different rules that laid down exactly how garments were to be rent. (ii) The flute-players. Flute music was particularly linked with grief. (iii) Wailing for the dead would be done by a group of paid, professional, women.

The focus for a good number of funeral services is on the living not the dead and this crowd is luxuriating in its own grief. We will always feel grief at the loss of loved ones, that is a reality but it would seem from this passage that Jesus wants to clear away the “clutter” that, in human terms, can surround death. It could well be as we simply rejoice in the fact that a Christian loved one is in heaven, the world might laugh at us.

Meditate: At a funeral service how can I honour the one who has died?
Prayer Pointer: The death of a Christian loved one can be a wrench I need help to celebrate their life and glorify God.

A CHRISTIAN LOOKS AT MATTHEW’S GOSPEL
An imperfect approach to Jesus doesn’t matter
Reading: Matthew 9:18-31 click to view passage

We now have three healing miracles that, surprisingly, all have something in common. The first man is a “ruler” of the synagogue. He would be one of those men who would gladly see the back of Jesus but as he had tried everybody else there was no one left to turn to. So he comes to Jesus with an inadequate motive. The second woman has inadequate courage, she creeps up behind Jesus and touches the hem of his cloak hoping not to be noticed. The blind men are a members of the JNP (Jewish Nationalist Party), and call Jesus “Son of David.” They are political cranks who are looking for a military leader who will get rid of the Romans. They have a completely inadequate understanding of who Jesus really is.
This is all very encouraging for us. However inadequately and imperfectly we come to Jesus he welcomes us, receives us and deals with our problem. Hallelujah! What a Saviour!

Meditation: Even with my imperfect understanding, my inadequate motive Jesus still welcomes me.
Prayer pointer: Jesus will receives me just as I am.

A CHRISTIAN LOOKS AT MATTHEW’S GOSPEL
The problem of the new
Reading: Matthew 9:16-17 click on passage to view

In our throw-away culture of the 21st century we are not really into repairing clothes. However in the old days when garments were patched, if you used a piece of unshrunk material in your mending, it would probably tear again quickly once it started to rain.
The Jews were passionately attached to the status quo and could not see how the radical new teaching of Jesus would fit into old ideas of Judaism. Jesus responds to this by pointing out the folly of repairing an old garment with unshrunken cloth or filling old wineskins with new wine.
We need to very careful here! Christianity is both the new wine and the new wineskin. The foundations of our Christian Faith have been established, we can’t invent them. We simply have to make them relevant to our time and culture. Let me illustrate: Should women cover their heads in church on a Sunday? No, that is a cultural issue which we can revise for our time. Should we change our view regarding homosexuality to fit in with the mores of the 21st century? No, because this is a moral issue and that can’t be changed. Matthew 9:16-17 was a word to the Jews, the new wine and the new wineskin is here and the fundamentals of Christianity can’t be altered.

Meditate: On the unchanging issues for a changing world.
Prayer pointer: I need to be flexible when things are not important but inflexible with the Truth.

A CHRISTIAN LOOKS AT MATTHEW’S GOSPEL
A question of fasting
Reading: Matthew 9:14-15 Click to view passage

Almsgiving, prayer and fasting were the three great foundations of the Jewish religious life. The disciples of John came to Jesus and asked, “the Pharisees and the disciples of John fast and your disciples do not. Why?” Jesus answers with this delightful little picture taken from a Jewish wedding. A Jewish wedding was a time of great festivity. The couple didn’t go away on a honeymoon but stayed at home for a week where they were treated like royalty. They shared this week with their closest friends. These special friends were known as “the children of the bridechamber.” That is the title in the original of v15. The joy will go when the bridegroom is taken from them(v15).

As Christians, since the day of Pentecost, we have been given the Holy Spirit who is the permanent, stand-in, replacement for Jesus until we go to heaven (John 16) so we shouldn’t be in mourning! As William Tyndale said in the 16th century, the Christian gospel is, “good, merry, glad and joyful tidings, that maketh a mannes hert glad, and maketh hym singe, dance and leepe for joy.”

Meditation: Am I joyful, as a should be or in mourning?

Prayer pointer: That my heart might be glad so that I leap with joy.

A CHRISTIAN LOOKS AT MATTHEW’S GOSPEL
Friend of sinners
Reading: Matthew 9:9-13 Click to view passage

It is generally accepted that Matthew is the Levi of Mark 2:14. His name suggests that he came from a priestly family, but he had fallen to the dubious level of being a tax-collector for the Romans. The Romans sold the job of collecting taxes and allowed whoever they appointed to recoup the losses of their investment. So they were never particularly honest or considerate and were universally hated and despised. Jesus had no problem in befriending this man and suggested that he should become one of his followers.

It is a sad fact that the older we grow in the Christian life, the fewer non-Christian friends we have. This severely limits our evangelism and effectiveness as the people of God.


Meditation: Jesus said, “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners,” (v13). For the sake of evangelism and effectiveness I must cultivate non-Christian friends.

Prayer pointer: I must become the friend of sinners too.

A CHRISTIAN LOOKS AT MATTHEW’S GOSPEL
The Forgiver of sin
Reading: Matthew 9:1-8 Click to view passage

We now see the authority of Jesus over sin. All sickness is not, as the Jews believed, the direct result of sin. Yet sin lies behind all sickness and disease but it was not part of God’s original plan or part of his intended future for us. The words of Jesus, to the man, stress that his needs were much deeper than mere physical healing. We need to hold on to the fact that our deepest need is for forgiveness too.

Meditation: The power of Jesus to forgive sin is no less dramatic than the stilling of the storm or the casting out of demons and it is just as effective.

Prayer pointer: Like the four men into today’s passage, are there spiritually needy friends who I should be introducing to Jesus?

A CHRISTIAN LOOKS AT MATTHEW’S GOSPEL
Lord of all (ii)
Reading: Matthew 8:28-34 Click to view passage

We continue to look at the authority of Jesus. We have seen him as Lord over Nature dealing with the storm, now we will see him as Lord over the world of demons.

Master of demons
After Jesus crossed the lake he came to the country of the Gadarenes and was met by two fierce, demon-possessed men. Both are homicidal maniacs who emerge from the tombs to accost him. In New Testament times demons inflicted men with mental and physical diseases and these two men illustrate the condition. In the bible “demon” can denote an “inferior pagan deity” (Acts 17:18) but more often it is an “evil spirit.” Supernatural powers have supernatural insight so these men instantly recognise Jesus. Demon possession is seen in the blasphemous cry of the men. Jesus is as authoritative over demons and he was with the storm, a simple “Go” and the demons depart (v32).

Without question the world seems less bothered by evil spirits in the 21st century than it was in the 1st. However, plenty of stories from the mission field suggest that in some areas of the world it is still a problem. All we need to note today is that Jesus is Master of demons.

Meditation: How do I view this subject today?

Prayer pointer: I need to see clearly that Jesus has power over the dark areas of this world and universe.

A CHRISTIAN LOOKS AT MATTHEW’S GOSPEL
Serenity in the storm
Reading: Matthew 8:23-27 Click to view passage

We will spend another day on these verses because they present us with a marvellous illustration of what the bible means by “peace.” “A furious storm came up on the lake…..but Jesus was sleeping.” (v24). I wonder, when the phone rings endlessly and the emails keep coming in, if you sigh and say, “Oh for a little peace.” This story emphasises that peace is not the absence of activity, or the absence of hostility or even the absence of reality. Jesus had peace in the midst of the storm and that is where we have to find it too.

Matthew Henry said, “When Christ died he left a will, in it he bequeathed his soul to his Father, his body to Joseph of Arimathea, his clothes fell to the soldiers, his mother he gave to John, but to his disciples, who had left all to follow him, he left not silver or gold but something that was infinitely better – his peace.”

Meditation: Peace is not the absence of activity, hostility or reality.

Prayer pointer: To be an instrument of Jesus Christ’s peace.

A CHRISTIAN LOOKS AT MATTHEW’S GOSPEL
Lord of all (i)
Reading: Matthew 8:23-27 Click to view passage

The three miracles of healing are followed by another three which really demonstrate the authority of Jesus over (i) Nature, (ii) Demons and (iii) Sin.

He who rules the waves rules the world
At BH recently we have looked at a similar story in John’s gospel, this is clearly a different occasion as Jesus is asleep in the boat. It is no storm in a teacup. Matthew calls it a “furious” storm (v24), it is a word we use of earthquakes “seismos.” In fact the waves were so high that the boat is hidden in the troughs. At a command from Jesus, “Be muzzled,” the storm abated
This passage clearly says that no matter how seismic our problems or deep the troughs we go through in life, Jesus is there with us.

Also note that there is no suggestion in the bible that the followers of Jesus can escape the storms of life but it does assure us that Jesus will be there with us in the midst of them.

Meditation: He who rules the waves rules the world.

Prayer point: Remember that in life’s storms we can turn to Jesus.

Matthew: 43

A CHRISTIAN LOOKS AT MATTHEW’S GOSPEL
We mustn’t have any delusions about discipleship
Reading: Matthew 8:14-22 Click to view passage

This third miracle is important because it shows that ministry is not just for big public occasions, it can also be exercised in a small, private, gathering such as a friend’s home.

We have two volunteers who want to follow Jesus but they haven’t looked at the cost of discipleship. The first volunteer makes an emotional response, his heart is already there with Jesus but he hasn’t worked out the practicalities. He hasn’t seen it can be demanding and lonely, even the security experienced by birds and animals may not be his. The second volunteer is happy to follow Jesus once he has fulfilled his family obligations but Jesus insists on discipleship without any delay.

Meditation: Am I totally committed to Jesus whatever it costs?

Prayer pointer: Help me to fully the cost of following Jesus.

A CHRISTIAN LOOKS AT MATTHEW’S GOSPEL
The centurion and faith
Reading: Matthew 8:5-13 Click to view passage

We will spend another day looking at faith. Again you can see the three steps of faith. (i) Knowledge. This soldier comes to Jesus because he has somehow heard that Jesus can help his little page-boy (v6). By coming to Jesus at Capernaum he shows his (ii) Belief. There is certainly plenty of (iii) Trust in the words, “Just say the word,” (v8).

As we saw yesterday, people all over the world exercise common faith everyday. Imagine two men going down into Brighton late in the morning. One, realizing that he is hungry, says, “Look there is a Pizzeria over there.” Here is knowledge, somehow both men know that a Pizzeria can deal with hunger. They enter, it is early for lunch, so they are the only customers. The waiter gives them a plasticised menu with colourful pictures of Pizzas. Everything is there from a Margherita to a Marina. The waiter takes their order and in many ways this is an extraordinary act of Belief because there are no customers eating and there is no evidence of a kitchen. Both men now Trust as they sit and wait. Eventually their trust is rewarded when two freshly cooked pizzas arrive.

Meditation: What can I do to prepare myself to exercise faith?

Prayer pointer: I need help in dealing with the fallacy of the world that “seeing is believing.”

Matthew: 41

A CHRISTIAN LOOKS AT MATTHEW’S GOSPEL
The man with leprosy exercises faith
Reading: Matthew 8:1-4 Click to view passage

I expect people have said to you, “I wish I had your faith.” I don’t know how you reply but I always say, “Well you do!” Common faith is something that we share with the whole of mankind and everyday you can see it being exercised by millions of people.

Faith in the bible is not a leap in the dark, it has three precise steps. (i) Knowledge. We don’t know how but somehow this man had acquired the knowledge that Jesus could heal him. Then he has (ii) Belief. He showed his belief as he said, “Lord if you are willing, you can make me clean.” (v2). (iii) Trust. His trust is rewarded by healing.

You can see a mass exercising of faith, if you go to either Brighton or Hove station early in the morning. Let’s say we go to Hove station at 6:45am. Across on platform 3 there is quite a crowd of men and women waiting, somehow they have acquired Knowledge that at 6:50am there is a fast rain to Victoria. Their knowledge is quite precise, note they are not on platform 1 or 2! This knowledge has come via the “word” of the timetable. Belief, although some might say, “I only believe in the things I can see” there is nothing in sight! Apart from the occasions when there are leaves on the line or the wrong sort of snow, their trust is rewarded. Here is another reason for studying our bible, it gives us the knowledge which is the foundation of faith.

Meditation: What can I learn from today’s passage?

Prayer pointer: Help me to see that faith is built on a knowledge of God say in the bible.

Matthew: 40

A CHRISTIAN LOOKS AT MATTHEW’S GOSPEL
Difficult decisions (iii)
Reading: Matthew 7:24-27 Click to view passage

This third choice is addressed to, “Everyone who hears.” Probably because it is almost impossible to go through life without some basic belief or belief system. We have to choose the right foundation.

Two different foundations
The big word is philosophy, that is what Jesus is talking about. If you are a follower of Jesus, then your philosophy is all that God has revealed in his word. Christianity is the solid rock on which we can build our lives and it can withstand anything you throw at it. Another belief system of today, (although it doesn’t sound like one), is I-don’t-believe-in-anythingism and it is a quagmire of sinking sand. It doesn’t suggest a system of thought, a pattern of behaviour or present us with ideas for living. You can’t build anything on a philosophy like this, it can’t sustain anything.

However, as Christians we have chosen our foundation. The difficult question for us now is, “How can I cement this foundation and make it firmer?” Our Faith is a revealed faith. So we must: (i) continue to explore it as it is revealed in the Bible. (ii) Act on what we read because it is obedience that links “hearing” with “behaviour.” Obedience to the principles of our chosen foundation is the third cost of discipleship.

Meditation: I must commit myself to serious study of the bible each day.

Prayer pointer: I must “obey” what I “hear” in the word.

Matthew 39

A CHRISTIAN LOOKS AT MATTHEW’S GOSPEL
Difficult choices (ii)
Reading: Matthew 7:15-23 Click to view passage

We are still looking at the cost of discipleship. If our first choice is about the way we live, our second concerns the sort of teachers or leaders we have.

There are two types of leader. There are genuine and false teachers. There always have been, we see them throughout the Old Testament, the New and church history. Remember our Sunday morning teaching on Revelation! The fact that outside the notice board proclaims a Christian church doesn’t mean it is so on the inside We need to: (i) Choose our leaders carefully.

Study the leadership. Are they more interested in themselves than Jesus, are they teaching their own ideas rather than the bible, are they after power or riches for instance? (ii) Look at their clothes Jesus says a shepherd’s clothing doesn’t make a shepherd, the same goes for a dog-collar or tie. The point is are they trying to say something by what they wear or the rituals they perform? (iii) Study their language The fact that they say, “Lord, Lord,” (v22) doesn’t mean anything if Jesus doesn’t know them. “Know” (“knew” v23) means “to acknowledge and to hold with favour. (iv) Look for the fruit of the Holy Spirit in their lives. Almost everything that God does, the Evil One can impersonate, one exception is holiness!

Meditate: On these verses regarding the sort of leaders you want.

Prayer pointer: Thank you for the leaders we have, please keep them walking with you.

A CHRISTIAN LOOKS AT MATTHEW’S GOSPEL
Difficult choices (i)
Reading: Matthew 7:13-14 Click to view passage

The Nazis arrested Dietrich Bonheoffer in 1943 and Himmler himself ordered him to be hanged in April 1945, just a matter of weeks before the Allies liberated his concentration camp. His great book was “The Cost of Discipleship,” and that cost is what we are looking at here.
Two ways to live
The narrow gate is not heaven, but the entrance to life. When we enter by that gate we begin the Christian experience on earth. Entering the wide gate is choosing the world with all its attractions, rather than the Kingdom of God with its disciplines and challenges. Although entering the narrow gate has its difficulties, on the other side is an ever broadening vista that leads to eternal life (the life of God’s Age). The reverse is true of the wider gate, it is an ever-narrowing path that leads to destruction. As Bonheoffer said in his book there is no such thing “as cheap grace,” following Jesus costs everything. Shimon Peres, the 9th President of Israel, said he wasn’t afraid of loosing his life, but wasting it. For human being there are two ways to live. We must make our choice.

Meditation: Am I going to waste my life?
Prayer pointer. Help me to pay the price of discipleship.

Matthew: 37

A CHRISTIAN LOOKS AT MATTHEW'S GOSPEL
The Golden Rule
Reading: Matthew 7:12 Click to view passage

The Sermon on The Mount reaches its ethical climax here. It is a summary of the Law regarding our relationship with others, it tells us of our social responsibility.

Other great teachers such as Confucius, Aristotle and Socrates have given us similar teaching. Their teaching is good teaching but in the end it is suggesting a calculated pragmatism, rather than a wholehearted outgoing to others.

The teaching of Jesus is unique because it speaks of an active and positive outgoing, while others suggests something negative and passive. Confucius says “Do not do to others what you would not want done to yourself.”

Meditation: How can I be more pro-active in my daily application of this Golden Rule?

Prayer pointer: Father thank you for the positive teaching here.
Help me to be the initiator of this sort of living.

A CHRISTIAN LOOKS AT MATTHEW'S GOSPEL
To whom are we praying?
Reading: Matthew 7:9-11 Click to view passage

You can’t pray without sometimes asking the question, “To whom am I praying?” Jesus gives us the answer, it is to “your Father in heaven,” (v11). We have no need to be concerned, there is no way he is unwilling to hear us and we don’t have to pressure him into answering our prayers.
To illustrate the Father’s impartial love and his plentiful provision for us, Jesus uses the basic necessities of people of his time in the East. These needs are “bread” and “fish.” The point is that in both cases the Father won’t give us look-a-likes that don’t satisfy. If a son asks for bread he isn’t given a little round limestone from the shore that has the colour and shape of a loaf. Nor if the son asks for a fish will he give him a …….? Most scholars think that Jesus here refers to an eel. A fish the Law didn’t allow Jews to eat (Leviticus 11:12)

All that the Father gives will satisfy and they will be “good gifts.”In the parallel passage in Luke the “good gifts”become “the Holy Spirit.” (Luke 11:13). I like that because the Holy Spirit is the basic necessity of the spiritual life!

Meditation: Think about how Jesus describes the Holy Spirit in Johns gospel. In John 16 he implies that the Holy Spirit is the-stand-in-replacement for himself who every believer possesses until we go to heaven.

Prayer pointer: Thanks giving that we come to Father who gives “good gifts.”which satisfy.
Matthew:35

A CHRISTIAN LOOKS AT MATTHEW’S GOSPEL
A little sermon on prayer
Reading: Matthew 7:7-8 Click to view passage

The connection between this little sermon on prayer and what has gone before is not immediately obvious. Jesus has been talking about the dangers of a critical spirit and the need to recognise men who could possibly be “wolves in sheep’s clothing.” It is prayer, that will give us the wisdom we need in this delicate and sensitive area. We must, “Ask…seek…knock.” Three things need to be noticed here. (i) The verb is an imperative, so we have a command from Jesus. (ii) The tense of the verbs is the present continuous. We are to, “Ask and keep on asking….to seek and keep on seeking…knock and keep on knocking.” (iii) There is also an ascending intensity. To “ask” is a simple request. To “seek” goes a step further and implies some sort of participation and finally “knocking” brings an element of importunity and persistence.

Meditation: Can I use the time given me today in queuing, waiting at red lights and walking between jobs to be more importunate and persistent in my praying?
Prayer pointer: In the areas where I need wisdom Father, help me to, “Ask, seek and knock.”




Matthew: 34

A CHRISTIAN LOOKS AT MATTHEW’S GOSPEL
Discerning judgement
Reading: Matthew 7:6 Click to view passage

In the previous verses we have been looking at unfounded criticism. However, Jesus not only said, “judge not,” he also told us to, “make a right judgement,” (John 7:24). So there is permissible as well as forbidden judgement. We must discriminate, the criminal and the tyrant must be resisted. We are not to be a fault-finder, quick and eager to criticise, when action is unjustified but when laws are broken we need to speak up firmly.

The Early Church linked this verse with the Lord’s Supper and often demanded an exclusiveness that is the reverse of Christian teaching.

John Chrysostom said, “Evangelism is not in question, but we are not to waste time with the incurably ungodly.”

Meditation: Perhaps today my concern shouldn’t be with the “incurably ungodly” but on those who suffer at their hands. Is there someone who needs my help?
Prayer pointer: Help me like Jesus to “preach good news to the poor…proclaim freedom to prisoners…recovery of sight for the blind…and release the oppressed.” (Luke 4:18)



Matthew: 33

A CHRISTIAN LOOKS AT MATTHEW’S GOSPEL
Stop rubbishing others!
Reading: Matthew 7:1-5 Click to view passage

Jesus is talking about a critical spirit. “Stop rubbishing others,” he commands and the reason is obvious; nothing destroys a happy church faster and more disastrously than this. We are often critical when we really don’t know the facts and circumstances.
It is more than possible that we’ve been guilty of misjudging others at sometime and we’ve probably suffered painfully from the misjudgements of other people too.
In the book of Esther, Haman is eventually hung on the gallows he prepared for Mordecai. That is the danger of a critical spirit, it can easily boomerang back on us.
We need to take both the speck of sawdust and the plank out of our own eyes.

Meditation: Everyday we see politicians rubbishing others, think how marvellous it would be if they built each other up. Plan to build others up today.

Prayer pointer: Help me to be a builder-up and not a puller-down.




Matthew 32

A CHRISTIAN LOOKS AT MATTHEW’S GOSPEL
The tea-bag verse
Reading: Matthew 6:25-34 Click to view passage

We are staying with the subject of anxiety and worry for another day. It is difficult to stop the fly-wheel of worry but it can be halted by concentrating on a bible verse. However, the problem that started the worrying in the first place still hovers in the back of your mind. It could be an interview, a meeting, a task, an exam. Whatever it is, how do we face it? There is a verse that in my family known as the tea-bag verse. Paul says, “I can everything through him who gives me strength,” (Philippians 4:13 literal translation). Notice Paul is so certain of this truth, that he doesn’t even use a verb! Secondly, “who gives me strength,” – the process that Paul describes here, is similar to what happens when you put a tea-bag in a cup and pour boiling water on it, the water is infused with tea! Paul is saying he is infused with Christ’s strength. When you step through the door for that interview, sit down to take the exam, begin the task before you. Say to yourself, “I can all things through him who infuses me with his strength.”

Meditation: think about Philippians 4:13
Prayer pointer: Remind me of this verse as I tackle various things today.



Matthew: 31