relationships (Matthew 8:18-22) Love, Honor and Willingness

(Matthew 8:18-22)

18 Now when Jesus saw a crowd around Him, He gave orders to depart to the other side of the sea. 19 Then a scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.” 20 And Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” 21 And another of the disciples said to Him, “Lord, allow me first to go and bury my father.” 22 But Jesus said to him, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY

Besides the twelve disciples that Jesus would pick, there were many other people who were following after Him as disciples (students), who saw Him as a rabbi (the Jewish term for teacher.)  Besides learning their master's ways, the students would also serve these teachers in practical ways that had to do with their school and work (much like a TA - teacher's assistant in college or university).

Here, the first person who approached Jesus was a scribe.  They were professional writers, and therefore used as recorders, secretaries, town-clerks, public servants... and their influence would vary from state to state.  As a Jew, these scribes were people who had access to the scriptures, and were the ones who made EXACT copies of the scriptures.  

These scribes were people who had already studied and knew the Mosaic law, as well as the sacred writings, and so, were looked up to as interpreters and teachers in their own right, and were sought out for clarity and advice, much like lawyers, especially on the more difficult and subtle questions of the law.  BUT - in having this position - they found (wrongful) power to distort God's words in order to manipulate and accommodate various kinds of desires and worldview-thinking.

From Jesus' response to this scribe, we can safely assume that this man's motive in seeking out Jesus as a teacher to follow was not pure, but coming from a position of power and pride, with a desire to obtain greater power and recognition.  Now, Jesus did not say anything all that radical.  In that society, there were, for example, Greek philosophers, as well as Jewish sects (such as the Essenes), who would test wanna-be disciples with extreme demands, such as giving up all of their properties and personal possessions!  Even king David warned prospective followers about the conditions that they would all have to endure and suffer through.  So whenever Jesus called someone to follow Him, the choice was a voluntary decision that had to come with a willingness to live a sacrificial lifestyle.

But - consider the honor to be asked to follow Jesus as a disciple!!!  Because in that society, men would seek out their own teachers, desiring to learn from them, so that they could be just like them.  Meanwhile, God desires that all come to know Him, personally.  So, Jesus reaches out to us, EVEN WOMEN!  He chooses us to follow Him, not just to learn, but to BE like Him, while He helps us, and guides and equips us with His wisdom, strength and love!  It is He who changes us from the inside out.

Then, in verse 21, we see someone who has most likely become a believer and follower, but rethinks this big decision of having a sacrificial lifestyle.  His excuse to Jesus is that he wants to carry out his obligations as the oldest son, regarding his father.  At the very least, it would have been a year's delay, given the ritual and process that happened after someone died.  And perhaps, the father was still alive, and the son did not want to be seen as dishonoring him, by neglecting to take care of him in his older age.  Back then, in Jewish society, they saw that honoring one's parents was one of the greatest commandments!

We are to honor our parents, but God needs to come first in our lives!  Following Jesus and embracing our personal relationship with Him, is the most important relationship we can have!  If we do not have a healthy relationship with the Lord, we cannot have a healthy relationship with others!

Just as Jesus answers this question put forth by a "lawyer" - a scribe - who thought they knew scripture better than Jesus, and wanted to test Him.  Hmmmm... who do you think knows scriptures the best?  A mere mortal, or the Lord God who is from the beginning, who is with the Word, and who is the Word, and who is the omniscient God who wrote the Book!!!  (John 1:1-14, 2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:21, and 1 Thessalonians 2:13)

(Matthew 22:36-40)  But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him: 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 Upon these two commandments hang the whole Law and the Prophets.”

relationships (Matthew 8:14-17) This is Love

(Matthew 8:14-17)

14 When Jesus came into Peter’s home, He saw his mother-in-law lying sick in bed with a fever. 15 And He touched her hand, and the fever left her; and she got up and waited on Him. 16 Now when evening came, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill. 17 This happened so that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled: “He Himself took our illnesses and carried away our diseases.”

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY

This is love!  There are times Jesus answers prayers that have not yet been prayed!  And there are so many times Jesus heals us, without us giving it a second thought or a thank You!  And even when we don't receive the healing that we think we should have, Jesus is always there to help us get through that, in His will, comfort, peace, joy and strength.  These are typically the times when and where we draw especially closer to the Lord in our personal relationship with Him, because we don't have anyone or anything else to trust in and rely on.  The Lord is faithful and cares!

This is love reciprocated.  Peter's mother-in-law could have continued languishing in bed thinking, "I was just very sick, I need to take it easy, pace myself, and get a little bit of 'me-time'."  But no!  She immediately got up and started serving the Lord.

The Lord is able to heal us physically, but the most important healing that He does is spiritual.  When anyone goes to Him with humble hearts to repent, He forgives us of all our sins and chooses to remember them no more!  In this spiritual healing we are changed from the inside out, and we receive His indwelling Holy Spirit who continues to convict, guide, equip, strengthen and help us.  And once we are in heaven, we will be completely healed, receiving glorified bodies, which will never again struggle with diseases or temptations!  And in our love and thankfulness, we will all be serving the Lord and those around us, for all eternity, to His glory!  This is love!!!

relationships (Matthew 8:5-13) Full Respect

(Matthew 8:5-13)

5 And when Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, begging Him, 6 and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, terribly tormented.” 7 Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.” 8 But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” 10 Now when Jesus heard this, He was amazed and said to those who were following, “Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel. 11 And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; 12 but the sons of the kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13 And Jesus said to the centurion, “Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment.

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY

This Roman centurion (a captain of one hundred men) had somehow heard of Jesus and knew - believed - that He was a Man of great authority who was able to heal from a distance.  We're not told that he was indeed a believer, but his actions and words seem to indicate this.  First of all, he actually cared about his servant and was willing to go out of his way to seek out a solution.

This centurion was most likely originally a Syrian who became a Roman citizen.  The people of Israel already saw Rome as their enemy for invading their homeland, but centurions and soldiers were known for their abusive behavior, and therefore, the people hated these men.  Yet, this centurion called Jesus "LORD", which often was used as a term of respect, much like "sir".  But verse 5 says that he came to Jesus to beg.  From the original Greek word, one could also say he went to Jesus to beseech, intreat, implore and/or pray .  Therefore, it would seem that his respect for Jesus was much more than just social.

Jesus' statement about going to the gentile's home to heal the servant inferred that He was willing to cross cultural boundaries, which would have been socially unacceptable among pious Jews, since most gentiles were pagans.  But then Jesus amps up His message to demonstrate His willingness to associate with gentiles, by saying that many from all over the world will one day recline and eat at HIs table (in the Millennial kingdom as well as in heaven).  This statement would also indicate that the centurion was probably a believer.  

After all, God created ALL of mankind, and came in flesh to die for ALL the world, because of His great love and desire that ALL come to know Him!  The only way anyone reclines and eats at the Lord's table of such intimate fellowship, is to have a personal relationship with Him, through His salvation.  To believe in the Lord is to trust that everything He says is truth, and to strive in obedience to live in His will and righteousness, while fully depending on Him for our healing, comfort, strength, guidance, wisdom, peace, joy, hope...  

The heavenly Father of this family table of love invites everyone to come - to be part of the family - to be born again and become a child of God for all eternity!  To repent of one's sins in order to receive His forgiveness and indwelling Holy Spirit who changes us from the inside out.  This is for everyone, and God asks us to NOT be prejudiced, but help spread that good news of this invitation.  And God asks us to have faith in knowing that He is able to do all things, even things that are "distant".  To understand all of this should cause us to have the utmost respect for the Lord!

relationships (Matthew 8:1-4) Recognition and Appreciation

(Matthew 8:1-34)

1 When Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed Him. 2 And a man with leprosy came to Him and bowed down before Him, and said, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” 3 Jesus reached out with His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4 And Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one; but go, show yourself to the priest and present the offering that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY

I see a beautiful man of faith here, who is a great testimony to not just the priests who got to witness the healing result, but to us!  And we can see that this man had a personal relationship with the Lord.  Notice that when Jesus healed the man, Jesus didn't have to tell him to sin no more, nor did He tell the man that he would be healed according to his faith.  That's because the man already had faith in the Lord, and was most likely already living a life of obedience!

Even though his Lord God had allowed him to get leprosy, he was not angry, bitter or all "oh-woe-is-me".  In fact, this man loved, honored AND RECOGNIZED the Lord God in flesh.  And this man certainly did not take the Lord for granted.  He was not at all presumptuous to demand that the Lord HAD to heal him.  In fact, he bowed down before the Lord and called Him "LORD", followed by his question: "IF YOU ARE WILLING!!!"  

Is it Your will, Lord?  Perhaps I'm more use to You as a leper.  The man was willing to live according to God's will, however or whatever that meant. wow-wow-wow...  And even more obediently, we can safely assume that this man followed Jesus' directions immediately afterwards, about following Mosaic law, as well as not telling others about his healing, otherwise the Bible would say that he didn't listen and that he went around telling people (like we will see later in the next chapter).  

According to Leviticus 13, if someone's skin showed anything irregular, they were to go to the priest who would look at the symptoms and diagnose them.  If the person had leprosy, they were declared unclean by the priests.  The priests were to do follow-ups, and unless the leprosy was still there, it was the priest who would declare a person clean, and there would be a whole cleansing process.  Of course, a believer will desire to bring an offering of thanksgiving and great appreciation to the Lord for His healing!

Looking at the very last phrase of the very last verse says so much about the relationships that spiritual leaders had - or didn't have - with Jesus!  We know that most of the Pharisees were very opposed to Jesus and His ministry, while others maybe were not sure.  As well, there could have been some who believed, or lacked confidence in their belief, and were fearful of opposing the Pharisees.  But, seeing the evidence of how Jesus healed this leper could have either convinced them that Jesus is Lord so that they might believe, or this could have encouraged them in their faith!

Jesus is the great Physician... not just One who is able to physically heal, but most importantly, He spiritually cleanses and heals those who humbly go before Him for His forgiveness, eternal life and a personal relationship!

relationships (Matthew 7:15-29) A Constant In Our Life

(Matthew 7:15-29)

15 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles, are they? 17 So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 So then, you will know them by their fruits.

21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22 Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; leave Me, you who practice lawlessness.’

24 “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts on them, will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of Mine, and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and its collapse was great.”

28 When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching; 29 for He was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY

Verse 23 emphasizes the fact that our faith and salvation is not earned or based on a religion, it is a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ!  God desires that all come to know Him.  We can know Him personally only because of His work on the cross (the tree, the vine).  And when we know Him personally, He is our Rock which we can build upon, and He helps us and protects us for all eternity.

The Lord came in flesh in order to hang and die on the tree, in our place, to pay for our sins.  In His resurrection, He had victory over sin and death, and is therefore the tree of life!  The vine!  So when we realize His great love for us and what He did for us, we will choose to love Him back.  We will see the need and desire to humbly go to Him to repent and accept Him into our life.  In this, He forgives us, gives us eternal life, seals us with His Holy Spirit, covers us with His Righteousness, and changes us from the inside out!  We are forever connected to Him!  Adopted into His family as a child of God!  We cannot lose our salvation.

As we grow closer to the Lord, allowing Him to continue working for us, in us and through us, He nourishes us, equips us, and guides us - to become more like Him.  In His love, goodness, wisdom and strength, we will produce good fruit.  Again, while we cannot lose our salvation, we can quench the Holy Spirit by being disobedient.  Therefore, just like nurturing any healthy relationship, we must abide with the Lord.  One of the ways is to be studying His word.  Another is be praying to Him about everything, and then trusting and relying on Him.

(John 15:4)  Remain in Me, and I in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself but must remain in the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in Me.

In our walk with the Lord and desiring to get to know Him better involves knowing His truth.  How else can we differentiate truth from lies, unless we know the truth!   And because Jesus Himself, is Truth, and He desires that we come to know Him, we can have a personal relationship with Him. Going forward, we still have the choice/s:  to listen and obey our loving, perfect heavenly Father... or... do Satan's bidding and help him and the demons work to destroy God's family????!!!!  Yes, it's all too easy for Christians to become deceived, and prideful, and start deceiving, dividing and destroying... The question then becomes, did that person truly, sincerely become a Christian in the first place?

(John 14:6) Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.

It is to our great benefit that we strive to remain steadfast.  And in order to stand up to temptation, it helps to better know God, His will, and His truths.  And not just to know Who and what, but HOW!!!  As our caring, heavenly Father, He desires to help us, guide and equip us!  As well, He is our great comfort, confident and courage, because He along is faithful, unchanging, all-powerful, all-knowing, everywhere-present, holy, just, righteous and loving!

(Psalm 62:2) 

     He alone is my rock and my salvation, 

     My stronghold; I will not be greatly shaken.

(Deuteronomy 32:3-4) 

3   For I proclaim the name of the Lord;
     Ascribe greatness to our God!
4   The Rock! His work is perfect,
     For all His ways are just;
     A God of faithfulness and without injustice,
     Righteous and just is He.

relationships (Matthew 7:13-14) The Impossible Made Possible

(Matthew 7:13-14)

13 “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is constricted that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY

The gate is "constricted" - NOT because the Lord wants to make it difficult for people to discover new life with Him for all eternity, and experience a close, personal relationship with Him!  After all, the Lord God created us so that He would have us to love, and desires that we love Him back.  But because He is love, He will never force anyone to love Him back.  He created us with a free will, with options, and the freedom to act upon them.  Therefore, it is all about our choice:  do we want a personal relationship with the Lord, or not?

Understand that the Lord God is holy and cannot have a relationship with sin.  Where there is sin, there is death:  physically and spiritually.  When Adam and Eve brought sin into the world, this separated mankind from God.  The term "sin" is used in archery, meaning to miss the mark.  The bullseye can be likened to the "constricted gate".  So, if there is any bit of sin in a person's life, we miss the mark.  The only way we can get into heaven in our own efforts is to be perfect.  Well, if we are honest with ourselves, we know that this is absolutely impossible!

Sin is in direct opposition of God and His will and His character!  And God hates sin! Even though God did not choose this sinful life for us, and God does not want to punish anyone, because He loves us, He left the comforts of heaven, and came in flesh so that He could take our place in death, to pay for all sin, and then rose again to have victory over death and sin, so that we can choose eternal life with Him.

The Lord Jesus is our gate!  He is the only way to eternal life and heaven!  And while so many people will create their own religions and beliefs and insist that there are different ways to heaven, their ways do not and cannot address the sin-issue that is in their life.  Only the Lord Jesus can!  He made the impossible - possible!  But it's our choice!  And because He desires that all come to know Him, He gives everyone fair opportunity.

(Romans 1:18:23)  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, being understood by what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their reasonings, and their senseless hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and they exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible mankind, of birds, four-footed animals, and crawling creatures.

relationships (Matthew 7:12) The Golden Rule

(Matthew 7:12)

12 “In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY

I grew up hearing my dad reminding me often of this golden rule.  And then, he would usually follow that up with this verse...

(Proverbs 25:21-22)
21  If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat;
      And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink;
22  For you will heap burning coals on his head,
      And the Lord will reward you.

We have to look at this all as a "win-win" situation, at all times.  We are to show love to everyone, even to - and most of all - the unlovable.  This does NOT mean that we approve or support wrong behavior.  In fact, that kind of enabling in itself would be lying and deceptive, and the opposite of love!  But in showing God's unconditional and sacrificial love, we might have an opportunity to share the gospel message.  

If a person is not receptive to talking about the Lord God, at the very least, there will be a lovely, respectful interaction, because people tend to react in kind.  Many people live by the creed, "When someone is nice to me, I'll be nice to them.  But if they are mean to me, I'll be mean right back to them.".

Now, there are times when people are just in a bad mood, because maybe they had a bad night's sleep, they're h-angry, they have a migraine, they've been dealing with cranky people all day, they're going through a divorce, someone they love just got a cancer diagnosis or passed away...  So then, by being kind to them regardless, they might find some comfort or reprieve, which could lead to a beautiful conversation about how God can help, in all situations!

At the worst, someone may become angry at our kindness, and at the very worst, will want to persecute us because of our godly kindness.  But as we continue to be kind and loving, the Holy Spirit will convict them!  They will feel miserable!  Even if there aren't any witnesses to the exchange.  If there happens to be people there, they will see the evidence of God's love in us, and perhaps there we might have an opportunity to share the gospel message with those people.  We never know how God is going to work things out, but when we honor God by being obedient, He will. 

Of course, from the earlier verses in this chapter, we know that we should not be doing God's will in order to be performative.  Our thought should never be about who is all watching, although we should always keep in mind that God IS always watching.  I mean, He's right there anyways, always, so why would we not want to do all things WITH Him!  So much easier.  And not just easier, this is what God wants - to do life WITH us - and help us navigate through all the various relationships we might run into, or develop, or inherit.  Therefore, our motive should always be to love people with God's love, all in His strength, righteousness and wisdom, and all to His glory.