relationships (Matthew 10:5-15) Sharing What We Receive

(Matthew 10:5-15)

1 Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every sickness.

2 Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew; and James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, the one who also betrayed Him.

5 These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them, saying, “Do not go on a road to Gentiles, and do not enter a city of Samaritans; 6 but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those with leprosy, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give. 9 Do not acquire gold, or silver, or copper for your money belts, 10 or a bag for your journey, or even two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for the worker is deserving of his support. 11 And whatever city or village you enter, inquire who is worthy in it, and stay at his house until you leave that city. 12 As you enter the house, give it your greeting. 13 If the house is worthy, see that your blessing of peace comes upon it. But if it is not worthy, take back your blessing of peace. 14 And whoever does not receive you nor listen to your words, as you leave that house or city, shake the dust off your feet. 15 Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment, than for that city.

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY

Back then, most people only had one coat, which often would second as a blanket.  But Jesus didn't want the disciples to be distracted by worldly things.  They were to focus on God and their calling, as well as learn to trust God to provide.  The Lord's provision wasn't just about finding a place to stay that offered a room-and-board-scenario, it was, and is, about finding fellowship, unity and support among brethren, and about spiritually equipping each other for what the Lord has called us to.  

While a person should always be paid for the work that they do, we should never take advantage of God's purpose and gifts in efforts to get rich.  Notice verse 10 tells them not to acquire two of certain items, meaning, if needed, it was okay to accept one of each required item.  The Lord loves and cares, and for those who honor Him with their obedience, He will make sure that we have what we need.

What God gives us, we should freely give to others.  Therefore, while we are all to use our spiritual gifts in church to serve, one should not expect any sort of payment, otherwise it is not serving, it would then be a job.  The disciples were really sent out as missionaries, which is a job, just like being a pastor, etc.  In our church, our pastors encourage everyone who is hired by the church to ALSO serve in some other way.  This is just one of the ways that we can show sacrificial love.  Although, both serving and working for God requires God's supernatural help, and therefore, He gives and equips us freely and so very generously!

Another thing about "back then", hospitality was a highly valued virtue, especially since motels and hotels weren't as prevalent.  And at that point in Jesus' ministry, people either were going to eagerly accept the disciples, or totally reject them.  Jesus was advising these men to find places to stay where they could feel safe and welcomed.  And not only that, but the whole point to evangelism is to spread the gospel, make disciples, baptize and teach.  This is giving what God has given to us, so that they can then give to others.  We are to help equip the saints, but we must understand that the equipping and power is only and always coming from the Lord!

Two more "back then" tidbits which are important.  The common Jewish greeting, “Peace,” which was really a blessing, or a prayer to the Lord to bless that recipient, was culturally given according to social protocols and statuses.  But Jesus instructs the disciples to only bless those who were receptive to God's message and people.

As well, culturally, pious Jewish people who had been walking on pagan ground, would shake the dust off their feet before walking upon their land.  Well... from Jesus' instructions, regarding pious Jews or otherwise, ANYONE who rejected (or rejects) God's message and people, are pagans themselves.  Therefore, when the disciples withdrew their blessings of peace and shook the dust off their feet after meeting up with unresponsive or unreceptive pious Jews, this action would have caught their attention in a big way!

Jesus' instructions to the disciples in verse 8:  to heal, raise, cleanse and cast out, parallels the Great Commission.  In salvation, those who humbly repent are cleansed from all sin;  receiving eternal life is to be "raised from the dead";  being changed from the inside out to become a new creation is to be healed;  and receiving the indwelling Holy Spirit is to be protected from evil.  This is the very good news and message of certain hope that we can have, and are to share!

relationships (Matthew 10:1-4) Love That Is Matchless

(Matthew 10:1-4)

1 Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every sickness.

2 Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew; and James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, the one who also betrayed Him.

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY

For His disciples, Jesus called men from all walks of life, from the savvy and shady tax collector to the gruff and hardworking fishermen, from the zealous and the steadfast in nature to the dangerous imposture.  In the same way, Jesus calls everyone in this world to follow Him and obey.  It is up to each individual to accept Jesus into their hearts and lives, and then it is up to each individual who becomes a believer to strive in obedience.

As for Judas Iscariot, Jesus knew what he would do and what it would all lead to, and still gave him full opportunity to hear and see the Lord God's love in action.  This demonstrates just how much the Lord Jesus loves us!  Imagine having someone in your fold, knowing that they were willing to help your enemies in their attempts to kill you, but you still showed them the same level of love.  

Of course, Jesus is the sovereign Lord God and Creator, and with that He is omniscient (all-knowing).  Since the fall of man, (in Genesis 3:15) the Lord foretold mankind that He would one day come in flesh to pay the price for all sin and death.  Even before He created everything, He knew He would have to humble Himself, to suffer and die on a cross, but He still created mankind anyway!  And, He knew that there would be many people who would reject Him, hate Him, and mock Him, and He still died for every person and every sin.  This is how much love He has for us!!!

While Jesus allowed Judas Iscariot to be included in the body of disciples, if Judas never chose to repent and believe in Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior, then the Lord Jesus would not allow Judas into heaven.  It's very simple.  God is holy and cannot have a relationship with sin.  Only through our repentance and His forgiveness can one be set free from our sin, in order to be given eternal life in heaven. and enter into a personal relationship with the Lord.  Since He created us with a free will, it only makes sense that it is up to us to decide if we want to reject Him, or to love Him back and want Him in our lives forever!

relationships (Matthew 9:32-38) Being Compassionate

(Matthew 9:32-38)

32 And as they were going out, behold, a demon-possessed man who was unable to speak was brought to Him. 33 And after the demon was cast out, the man who was previously unable to speak talked; and the crowds were amazed, and were saying, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.” 34 But the Pharisees were saying, “He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons.”

35 Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness.

36 Seeing the crowds, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and downcast, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. 38 Therefore, plead with the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY

We see this in today's society:  people falsely accusing those who are doing good, and then defending those who are doing evil.  We definitely live in a fallen, broken world, and my heart is heavy when I consider this!  We are to have compassion, but let us not confuse that with approving and enabling bad behavior.  We are to make sure that justice is served for the victims.  But more importantly, we are to pray - plead - that the Lord will send out workers, to reach out to those who are desperately struggling to find purpose, direction, healing, comfort, fulfillment and meaningful relationships...  All of these needs are spiritual, and the Lord Jesus is the only answer, solution and true Shepherd.

By asking the Lord to send out workers, let us remember that we, ourselves, are also called.  And we are most like Jesus when we are serving.  It doesn't mean that we have to go to some distant, strange land.  We actually have a great harvest right around us.  It might be as simple as visiting with the next door neighbor.  May we be open to God's calling, and His equipping us, in order to accomplish whatever task, mission or purpose He has called us to, in order to point people towards the Shepherd.  And then, it is in our close relationship with the Lord and our obedience that we, ourselves, will experience the Lord in a mighty and an amazing way!

relationships (Matthew 9:27-31) When You Just Can't Keep Quiet!

(Matthew 9:27-31)

27 As Jesus went on from there, two men who were blind followed Him, crying out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” 28 And after He entered the house, the men who were blind came up to Him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.” 29 Then He touched their eyes, saying, “It shall be done for you according to your faith.” 30 And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, saying, “See that no one knows about this!” 31 But they went out and spread the news about Him throughout that land.

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY

Even though these men had been blind, their spiritual eyes were opened!  They knew just who Jesus was and recognized Him as the Son of David, which is another way to say "Messiah".  And they didn't go to Jesus with the expectations that most others had, which was that Jesus would save the Israelites politically, militarily and physically.  But, for healing, these two men sought Him out at a much deeper level, indicating that they knew and remembered God's words.

These men knew that God ruled over blindness and sight!  Because, for instance, in Proverbs 20:12, it says "The hearing ear and the seeing eye, the Lord has made both of them." And in 2 Kings 6:15-20, Elisha prayed to the Lord and asked Him to open his servant's spiritual eyes to see the army of angels, and then Elisha prayed to the Lord to temporarily blind the enemies' eyes.

And now for the amusingly perplexing part!  Jesus tells the men not to tell others about what happened!  Jesus had several reasons.  One was based on how people saw Him as the Messiah, expecting Him to be the "superhero" who would politically and militarily overthrow the Romans.  Jesus also did not want His ministry to turn into a circus, which would have hindered His ability to preach and move freely.  Not wanting the people to just focus on the physical miracles, His desire was that people focused on His teachings, His example, His sacrifice, and His spiritual joy, peace, love, help and blessings that He offers to the world.

Well, aside from not adhering to what Jesus asked of them (only in that moment)... if only we could all be like these two men who could not keep quiet about Jesus!!!  Like, if and when we meet one of our heroes (be it a speaker, athlete, musician, actor...), we are typically telling everyone all about it, and posting every detail of it in our social media.  

But, here is the Lord God, who humbled Himself, died on the cross for our sins and rose again, conquering sin and death - just because He wants to have a close relationship with everyone of us, and help us navigate life with awesome purpose!  So, as the Lord's love and blessings pour into our lives, may His love and blessings pour out of us to all those around us, so that more people will come to see, recognize and embrace the greatest Relationship one could ever have!

relationships (Matthew 9:18-26) The Touch of Love

(Matthew 9:18-26)

18 While He was saying these things to them, behold, a synagogue official came and bowed down before Him, and said, “My daughter has just died; but come and lay Your hand on her, and she will become alive again.” 19 Jesus got up from the table and began to accompany him, along with His disciples.

20 And behold, a woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years came up behind Him, and touched the border of His cloak; 21 for she was saying to herself, “If I only touch His cloak, I will get well.” 22 But Jesus, turning and seeing her, said, “Daughter, take courage; your faith has made you well.” And at once the woman was made well.

23 When Jesus came into the official’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd in noisy disorder, 24 He said, “Leave; for the girl has not died, but is asleep.” And they began laughing at Him. 25 But when the crowd had been sent out, He entered and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. 26 And this news spread throughout that land.

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY

Not too long ago we read this verse...

(Matthew 5:17)  “Do not presume that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill."

Now, according to anyone like the Pharisees, watching Jesus during His ministry here on earth, they would have accused Him of breaking several of God's Laws, just in this one day alone. By allowing a menstruating woman to touch Him, it would have rendered Him unclean for the rest of the day, according to Leviticus 15:19-33. And by touching a corpse, the most defiling kind of ritual uncleanness, He would have been considered impure for seven days, according to Numbers 19:11-22.

What we have to remember is that Jesus is God!  Not only is He sinless, He was able to remain sinless in touching these people to heal and give them life.  In the same way, because He is sinless, He was able to die on the cross in our place, taking onto Himself all sin, of all time, and paying the price, so that He could offer forgiveness, heal and give us eternal life when we put our faith in Him.    

The Lord God desires that all come to know Him, personally, and so, makes Himself available to us everywhere, all of the time, in any circumstance!  It is up to us to set aside our pride, and humbly go to Him, in faith, knowing that He alone is able.  

Just like this woman who acted with such great faith, was willing to be scorned by society, because she had been suffering a disease that deemed her continually unclean, which therefore kept her isolated, and most likely unable to have children, therefore kept her unmarried.  In that state, she should not have even been out among people, never mind touching someone.  Many teachers avoided touching women altogether, just in case they would become accidentally contaminated.  But,  knowing and having faith that Jesus loved and cared, and would understand, and would be able to supernaturally heal her, she reached out to Jesus! 

Just like this synagogue official, who humbled himself before the Lord by bowing before Him, with an onlooking crowd!  A man of this status would never have bowed to anyone, except before a king.  And man with that kind of knowledge of scripture, would have known that it was okay to prostrate oneself before God.  As well, he would have known that to touch a corpse was asking a lot, but he did it anyway.  Therefore, we know that this man recognized Jesus' power in a serious way, and that he knew just who Jesus was - the King of kings, and Lord of lords!

As for the people at the official's house, typically when someone passed away, families were expected to hire flute players and professional female mourners, to lead the people in cathartic release, with shrieking and the beating of breasts.  And, the richer you were, the more you would hire.  So when Jesus said that the girl was not dead, but was asleep, the laughter would have been mostly from those professional people who had no personal attachments to the girl, and would have known exactly what dead people look like!  Yet still, this official knew that Jesus is able to resurrect people from the dead!

These miracles that Jesus performed were physical, but even more amazing is that Jesus is able and desires to:  forgive us and wash us clean;  spiritually heal us and make us a new creation in Him;  give us purpose and a much better way;  supply us and equip us with everything we need;  AND give us eternal life!  This is because He is love, and desires that all come to have a personal relationship with Him!  Then, once we become a child of God, in faith, we are to run to Him, to be touched by Him, for His healing, comfort, peace, joy, strength and help... because we should know that He is more than willing and able to do the impossible!

relationships (Matthew 9:14-17) Being Made New

(Matthew 9:14-17)

14 Then the disciples of John came to Him, asking, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?” 15 And Jesus said to them, “The attendants of the groom cannot mourn as long as the groom is with them, can they? But the days will come when the groom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. 16 But no one puts a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and a worse tear results. 17 Nor do people put new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wineskins burst, and the wine pours out and the wineskins are ruined; but they put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.”

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY

I'm going to start with a basic social norm that is an unhealthy outlook.  There are those who equate and evaluate someone's love by how much time and money is spent on them, and/or how many extravagant hoops someone jumps through.  Like, "you must prove your love to me by fulfilling every single whim that I have!"  As well, there are those who say their "love language" is gift-giving.  Even if they say it is only about GIVING gifts, if they are really honest, it'll also be about GETTING gifts!  And even if these gifts are inexpensive and/or handmade, the cost still adds up, with a lot of time and effort that has to go into this.

What if money is tight?  What if one has to work longer hours or get a second job just to accommodate these acquisitions in their budget?  What if one gets sick or is laid off?  What happens when the gifts stop?  Does that mean they no longer love you, or that you no longer love them?  In the Bible, we are told to love, and we are given the definition of how, in 1 Corinthians 13.  And the ways that we are told to be generous with our resources, is to give to God, His church... and to those in need, while always making sure that we do not neglect our family's needs!  These are very practical things, but in God's kingdom, everything that we do, which includes serving God and others, should be done with God's agape (unconditional and sacrificial) love!

We know that all of God's commandments can be summed up into two:  love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength;  and then, love others!  Christianity and our faith is not about the do's and don'ts, it is all about God's love and having a personal relationship with Him!!!  Then, our obedience to God's will, in everything we say and do in His love, strength, wisdom and guidance will be the evidence of our love for Him.

Now to tie this into the verses above.  Not that giving or getting gifts, or having traditions is wrong, but these should not become religious.  Traditions can run very deep, and for the Israelites, there was a big problem with the Pharisees who kept adding to them, and not just as traditions, but as spiritual tenants and must-do-rituals.  Like, IF you say you love God - if you REALLY love God - then you are going to do this and this and this and this... but "this" is only in efforts to APPEAR righteous, and nothing about BEING righteous (which is to HAVE God's righteousness in our lives)!

The only place that God asked the Israelites to fast, was on the Day of Atonement, to be accompanied with prayer.  As we just saw in previous verses, fasting and prayer was to be kept personal, and not to become a big production for attention.  But the very religious Jews added many other mandatory fasts.  Many Pharisees would fast two days a week without food and even without water.

Meanwhile, wedding feasts traditionally were seven days of festivities and joy!  Therefore, people were not to fast or mourn or even do difficult labor during the time of a wedding feast.  Therefore, Jesus likens Himself to a groom who is celebrating with His attendants (the disciples).  The time for fasting and mourning would happen later - when Jesus went to the cross.  And then after His ascension, during the Church Age, there are times we can take to fast, and really focus on Him in prayer.  

Jesus in flesh is not here with us, but He is always with us in spirit... as the Lord is omnipresent, as well, all believers have His indwelling Holy Spirit.  We just kind of forget and/or take Him for granted, and so, we require daily devotions, praying without ceasing, being with our church family, and periodic fasting...!

So, now, how does the clothes and wineskin analogies apply?  Very practically, just doing nice things in efforts to please God and others, is like unwisely putting a patch of new fabric onto older fabric, which shrinks and causes clothing to tear!  And new wine as it ferments will expand and burst old wineskins, because they have already been stretched to capacity.  But Jesus isn't even recommending that we try to patch ourselves up!  Jesus wants to make people new!  

When we become believers, and put our faith in the Lord, there is a spiritual transformation.  As soon as we repent and ask the Lord into our lives, we are born of water and the Spirit, being cleansed from sin and receiving His indwelling Holy Spirit which comes with a spiritual renewal.  Dying to sin, we are born again into God's family.  We are covered in the righteousness of Jesus and become a new creation in Christ!  Then..

In our spiritual journey, it is our decision to strive in obedience and steadfastness.  We just have to remember that we have the Lord with us at all times, and He wants to help us in everything!  It is not about appearing righteous, and certainly not about doing what we think is right, which diminishes or adds to God's word.  It is about allowing God to help us be righteous... in His righteousness!

I recently heard it being put this way, and it's an amazing way to view this... Let us not ask ourselves what we can do for God, but let us ask God what He wants us to do for Him, and experience how He is going to equip and help us in our obedience, and bless the process and result!

relationships (Matthew 9:10-13) True Acceptance

(Matthew 9:10-13)

10 Then it happened that as Jesus was reclining at the table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and began dining with Jesus and His disciples. 11 And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, “Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?” 12 But when Jesus heard this, He said, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. 13 Now go and learn what this means: ‘I desire compassion, rather than sacrifice,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY

In society today, there is rhetoric being thrown around about being compassionate, tolerant, accepting, affirming and approving.  Let us not be deceived.  These words are often used to manipulate us in some way, to make us feel guilty and/or prideful and selfish.  Therefore, when we hear something, we need to look at facts and compare these against God's truth.  

Yes, we are to have compassion, but this should not enable or encourage people to commit crimes against others, otherwise, we are only showing compassion on criminals and not on the victims.  Yes, we should be tolerant in allowing people to express their ideas and beliefs, but if and when they contradict with God's will and His word, we should not buy into wrong thinking.  And yes, we should be accepting - as in loving everyone!!!  But we are not affirm or approve of wrong behavior!  To say that something is right and good, when it is actually harmful and wrong, is not love!

As it should be, the people in the passage above were criminals and sinners who felt remorse for their crimes and sin!  And as it should be, they went to the Lord who is the only one who can forgive sin.

God is only "tolerant" in the fact that He has created everyone with a free will, and therefore does not force anyone to love Him back or be obedient to His will.  He patiently gives everyone fair opportunity to realize their sinful nature and their need for Him to be in their lives, as their heavenly Father, as their close Friend and Confidant, as their Mentor and Teacher, as their Lord and Savior!

And the Lord God is the only one who truly is accepting.  Being holy, He cannot have a relationship with sin.  This is why we need His forgiveness.  Because He loves us, He desires to have a close relationship with EVERYONE.  This is why He came in flesh to pay the price for sin and death.  THEREFORE, He wants us to go to Him - AS WE ARE - but with a humble heart, and in His salvation, He changes us from the inside out.

We have to realize that we are sick, in need of a physician!  A person cannot be religious and attempt to work or earn their way to heaven.  Self-righteousness is actually a sin.  It's funny how people over evaluate their efforts.  But if we compare our goodness to the goodness of God, our good deeds are but filthy rags!  When we compare our love to the love of God, we will realize how self-centered and selfish we really are! 

No good deed is good enough to work our way into heaven!  No sin is too great for God to forgive.  When we humbly repent and ask the Lord to come into our hearts, the Lord forgives us, covers us with His righteousness, and gives us His indwelling Holy Spirit, so that we can continue on in close communion with Him.  And one day, the Lord will judge and reward all believers according to the good deeds done with His love and righteousness!