Matthew 20
Scripture
Matthew 20:14-15 NIV
”Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’”
Observation-What does it say?
Jesus tells a parable about a master and his hired servants to describe what the Kingdom of Heaven is like. The master hired servants to work in his vineyard, who he saw standing at the marketplace doing nothing at different hours of the day. He went out to look for workers at 9a, 12p, 3p, and 5p. He agreed to pay them each a denarius for the day.Those who were hired at 9 in the morning became upset that those who were hired at 5 in the afternoon only had to work for an hour, yet got paid the same amount that they did. They weren’t grateful that the master had hired them and given them purpose. Instead, they played the comparison game and felt that they deserved more.
Understanding-What does it mean?
Our gracious master shows no favoritism when He calls people to Himself. The same compassion and grace that saved you and gave you purpose in life is the same compassion and grace that saved me.
The Master in this parable represents Jesus and his mercy and grace towards sinners. The servants standing in the marketplace had no purpose in life and no job, as they were just standing around doing nothing. Yet the Master (Jesus) got a hold of them and gave them purpose. We are those servants. We are called by Jesus at different times in life. Some were called when they were 5 years old and gave their lives to Jesus, walking with Him their whole lives without rebellion. Some were called in high school (like me). Others in their adult life, while others on their death bed. Yet, Jesus’ promise to them/us is the same–eternal life. No one gets more or less as a servant of Christ. The envy of the servants who worked since 9a reminds me of the parable of the prodigal son, where the older son was jealous that the younger son got a party when he returned, yet he never got a party for being obedient to His father that whole time. What his father told him though was true…that the older son was with Him that whole time and everything He had was his, but they had to rejoice because his brother who was once lost is now found. (See Luke 15:11-32)
Also, I noticed that it’s not about how we start, but how we finish. Finishing the work at the end of the day is what got those servants paid. Persevering until the end and waiting on Jesus is what will get us the prize. As the Apostle Paul said in Philippians 3:13-14, “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
Life Application
Let’s love sinners, pray for them, and rejoice when they come to/come back to the faith. Also, let’s persevere to finish the work that Christ has called us to, as we await His return.
Those of us who are already part of the family of Christ have all the benefits of being his son/daughter. However, there are many in the world who do not because of rebellion or not even knowing the Truth. Let’s not give up in our mission of multiplying Christ followers everywhere together!
Dear Jesus, thank You for Your love, compassion and grace. Without it, I wouldn’t be here today. I pray that Your heart for sinners and the lost would become my heart and that I would persevere in the purpose You have called me to. Please forgive me and Spirit protect me from falling into the trap of feeling tired and wanting to give up. May I (we) press forward toward the goal to win the prize and love others enough to bring them into that faith and purpose as well. Amen.
Matthew 19
Scripture
Matthew 19:21-23
21 Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
22 When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.
23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24
Observation
Jesus leaves Galilee and heads to Judea. As he travels, people follow. Among those are the disciples, people that desire healing (as well as soul nourishment, I suspect), children and, of course, the lovely Pharisees – still looking for ways to test him.
First the Pharisees test him on the matter of divorce. There’s actually a great discourse on this, found here http://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/matthew-henry-complete/matthew/19.html, verses 3-12; but what most stood out to me was this…
“So patiently did he endure the contradiction of sinners, that he turned it into instructions to his own disciples!” [Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible, Matthew 19]
Perhaps a lesson to be learned from how Jesus responded to those who attempted to tempt him, test him and taunt him.
Next come the little children – brought to Jesus for prayer – and the disciples rebuke. But Jesus responds “let the little children come,” placed his hands on them and prayed.
Then a rich young man comes, asking what “good thing” he must do to get eternal life and Jesus speaks, instead, to the thing that has a hold on his heart.
Understanding
I love Jesus, the teacher. He’s forever keeping things simple, living by example and shaking up the way people see things (the religious rhetoric) wherever he goes.
Crowds of people have been following him for months! To me that alone sounds awful. I LOVE people, but I also crave solo time. By this time I’d likely get very testy with the Pharisees and their attempts to test me…I don’t know that I’d be so gracious and purposeful in my response. But Jesus never loses his cool with them; instead, he remains patient and uses his response to teach his disciples too.
His response to the children in a reminder to me to be present, pray continuously and just love on the children in my life – not only mine, but all the kids I come in contact with.
And, finally, the way Jesus responds to the rich young man…I think it’s got little to do with his wealth and everything to do with the young man’s heart. He wanted to know what “good thing” he could do – what checkbox he could check – to gain eternal life. The first response was to “obey the commandments.” Check. The young man responds that he’s done this. But then Jesus grabs hold of the heart issue, “Sell all your possessions and follow me.” To this, the young man turned and left, sad.
I don’t believe this has anything to do with being rich or even having stuff. I know Christians who are wealthy and who have stuff. And I believe when we are good stewards with little, we are often given more. However, what God has called us to and what Jesus speaks to here is “what holds your heart?” Do you have the wealth and the stuff or does it have you? We sang yesterday “Be my heart’s obsession, first and only in my life. In your love alone, my soul is satisfied.” They say you can tell where a person’s heart is (or priorities are) by how they spend their time, money and resources. When we look at our lives in that way, is God showing up as our “heart’s obsession, first and only” or has that space been filled by something else?
Life Application
God, I thank you for your presence. I think Jesus’s time spent here on earth gave us a glimpse of intentional, purposeful and present you are. Thank you for being present in the big and little details of our lives, for being patient with us, for teaching us. May our hearts and mind remain open to that teaching.
Thank you for your love for children. May I remember that as I go throughout the day – taking time to be present with children (and all people, really)…to pray over them, love on them and see them through your eyes.
And, finally, God, show me the areas of my life where you are not my heart’s obsession, not my first and only…where I’m finding (or attempting to find) soul satisfaction in something less than you. Help me to release whatever those things may be, so that I may honor you with my WHOLE life, my WHOLE heart.
I love you and thank you for your love for me. Amen.
To check out the discussion or to join in click here.
– Rei
Matthew 18
Scripture
Matthew 18:32-35
“Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
Observation
Understanding
With the vivid imagery of cut off limbs and gouged out eyes, Jesus points out the seriousness of sin by comparing the loss of these members as being more preferable to a life of sin and demands that we hate sin even more than we would love our own flesh. With His instruction of how to deal with sin in the Church, Jesus implores us to expose and confront sin; confess and repent; and be reconciled to one another. With the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant, Jesus reveals The Father’s hatred of the sin of hypocrisy and unforgiveness.
Life Application
Matthew 17
Scripture
Matthew 17:17-20
17 “You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” 18 Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed at that moment.
19 Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”
20 He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” [21] [a
Observation
Jesus takes Peter, James and John to the mountain top and they have a literal mountaintop God experience – Jesus is transfigured before their eyes and Moses and Elijah show up and are talking to Jesus too. Jesus clears up some misunderstandings about Elijah and John the Baptist and asks the chosen disciples to keep the experience quiet until AFTER he dies and is raised from the dead.
As they return to the crowd, a man comes to Jesus on behalf of his demon-possessed son – asking for healing. It is noted that the boy was brought to the disciples and they could not heal him. Jesus calls out the lack of faith in the disciples.
Understanding
This – lack of faith – continues to be an area of conviction for me.
There’s the knowledge side of me that believes it’s possible but I often feel my prayers lack the conviction. I remember in recent weeks Pastor Levi giving an example of a big bold request, with a sheepish “if it be your will.” I laughed because it’s so often EXACTLY how I pray.
Life Application
God, I don’t want to be part of the “unbelieving and perverse generation.” Please help build my faith. Help the head knowledge become heart knowledge. May I believe with power and conviction in just how powerful and mighty you are. You are forever responsive and trustworthy…may I continue to lean more and more onto you, developing my faith to a level of deep, unshakeable roots. And may I pass this on to my children as well.
In your name, I pray. Amen.
To check out the discussion or to join in click here.
– Rei
Matthew 16
Scripture
Matthew 16:9
Do you still not understand? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered?
Observation – What does it say?
On their boat ride to the other side of the lake, Jesus warns his disciples about the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees. When they hear the word “yeast,” they completely miss the point and think Jesus is pointing out the fact that they forgot to bring bread.
Seemingly frustrated, Jesus turns to them and exclaims, “Do you still not understand?” I don’t believe Jesus was frustrated that they missed the point, but because they thought he was really concerned with having enough bread.
Understanding – What does it mean?
With Jesus, there will always be enough.
Jesus pointed to the times he multiplied the little resources available to feed the 5,000 and 4,000 and that there was plenty left over each time. He wasn’t merely doing a miracle, but trying to teach his disciples something through it. Jesus is trying to get the point across that his provision weren’t merely one time events, but a revelation of his nature as provider.
Life Application
Trust God.
God, thank you that you’ve never given us reason to doubt you. Rather, you’ve always come through. Despite the many times I’ve been worried about finances, I’m still here today, with a roof over my head, bills paid and food in the kitchen. You’re so good, so faithful. We choose to put our trust in you! Amen.
– Levi Thompson
To check out the discussion or to join in click here.
Matthew 15
Scripture
Matthew 15:32-33 NIV
Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.” His disciples answered, “Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?””
Observation-What does it say?
Jesus had just retreated again to take a break and sat down on a mountainside along the Sea of Galilee. However, a large crowd that needed healing came to Him and Jesus healed them. As a result they praised God. However, they were with Him for 3 days and had nothing to eat. This concerned Jesus, because he was worried that they would collapse on their journey home if they weren’t fed.
Understanding-What does it mean?
Jesus cared not only for their present journey, but their future one as well.
These people had fasted for 3 days while they were with Jesus and probably traveled a long distance just to see Him. He did not just heal their present physical and spiritual needs, give a blessing and send them away. He took the time to think about their journey back home and wanted to take care of that too.
Life Application
Jesus is concerned with not only our present, but our future as well. But, there’s a part that we must play in that too.
With all the graduations and promotions this year, Jeremiah 29:11 is a popular verse to quote. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
However, the following verses after that one are just as important. “Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”” Jeremiah 29:12-14 NIV
In context, it was written to the nation of Israel, who God brought back from exile and restored for a time.
Just as the crowds sought Jesus out for healing, (He didn’t seek them out), we are also to call on Him, pray to Him, seek Him out with all our hearts, for when we do, we will find Him. We will be protected, cared for, nourished by Him and we will find our purpose not just for the present, but the future as well. (Jeremiah 29:12-13).
Dear Jesus, just as You healed and restored the physical and spiritual needs of that crowd who sought You out, followed You and fasted for 3 days along the Sea of Galilee, I pray that Your Spirit would give us as a church the desire to also fast, seek You out and follow You so that our present and future needs would be protected and cared for by You. Thank You that all Your thoughts and present and future plans for us are good. May You reveal more of Yourself to us as we stay in pure and constant relationship with You. Amen.
Matthew 14
Scripture
Matthew 14:22-23
“Immediately after this, Jesus insisted that his disciples get back into the boat and cross to the other side of the lake, while he sent the people home. After sending them home, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night fell while he was there alone.”
Observation-What does it say?
Jesus had just finished performing yet another miracle. Not only did Jesus heal all the sick from the crowds of people who were following him from town to town, but Jesus decided to feed the 5,000 men (not including the women and children) that day with only using five loaves of bread and two fish! And all the people ate as much as they wanted that day, and to top it off, they even had 12 baskets of leftovers to spare! Immediately following this miracle, Jesus sent the crowds of people home and sent his disciples back on the boat to cross to the other side of the lake. After everyone was gone, Jesus went up to the hills by himself to pray.
Understanding-What does it mean?
As busy as Jesus was with helping others, teaching, discipling, and performing miracles, He still found time to recharge and rest through His alone time with God.
Throughout Scripture you will find that Jesus often set aside times to be alone and pray to God. Whether it was spending 40 days in the desert or His time in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus knew the importance of connecting to His Heavenly Father for strength, comfort, and wisdom.
We all complain about our busy schedules and the lack of time we have to accomplish our daily tasks. And the first thing we seem to sacrifice in our life is our time with God (prayer time, Bible study, and journaling). Why is that? I know I can be guilty of this. But reading this passage reminds me just how busy Jesus was in life. He had his own ministry to do, He had his disciples to groom, and on top of all that, He had people fighting for His time on all sides of Him so that they could be healed! How did he keep it all together?! I believe it’s because of the emphasis He put in his life with spending time with God. He was purposeful about it. He would sneak away from the crowds and His disciples to get that one on one time He desperately needed to recharge with His Almighty Father. It was in these times Jesus found guidance, strength, and focus on what He needed to do. And He always walked away from those prayer times re-energized to keep moving on to fulfill God’s will. So how did the prayer time in this passage end up for Jesus?..He rescued His disciples who were on the boat experiencing rough waters, as Jesus came to them…walking on water!!!
Life Application
If I am to call myself a follower of Christ, shouldn’t I follow the things that He does? Shouldn’t I make my prayer time with God a priority?
We find time in life to do the things that are important to us. Whether it is me sacrificing sleep so I can wake up early to go to the gym, or me not sitting on the couch watching television so I can spend time with my kids. We do these things because we prioritize the things in our life that are important to us. So where does God fit in? Where does His people fit in? If God truly is the head of our household and number one in our lives, our lives should reflect it.
We are approaching the month of July. A month at DSC where we find rest, relaxation, and a little break in the busyness of church activities. Let’s take advantage of it! Let’s use this time to reconnect with our own family, reconnect with the church family, and more importantly reconnect with God. Let’s be purposeful with this time the way Jesus was purposeful with His time with God. Let’s re-energize, re-focus, seek God’s strength and wisdom through it. Let’s see what miracle He has in store for us at DSC because of it!
Matthew 13
Scripture
Matthew 13:3Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed…
Observation
Understanding
Life Application
Matthew 12
Scripture
Matthew 12:12
12 How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.
Observation
The disciples were hungry and broke off some of the grain as they walked through the grain fields. The Pharisees, seeing this, were quick to jump to judgment and criticize the disciples for “being unlawful.” Jesus backs up his disciples, then is challenged again – this time on the matter of healing on the Sabbath. The challenge comes from the thought that healing is “work” and, therefore, healing someone on the Sabbath is not in compliance with the commandment to rest and keep the Sabbath holy.
Understanding
The Pharisees required course correction. Earlier in Matthew – Chapter 5 – Jesus had discovered and rectified the issue of the Pharisees being to “loose” with the commandments. And, now, here they were being to legalistic – in particular in reference to commandment number for regarding keeping the Sabbath holy. But Jesus counters that works of necessity and mercy are still to be done.
A couple things come to mind…
- We need accountability.
The Pharisees were out of control – leaning towards the extremes in how they chose to follow the commandments. Too loose or too strict, depending on what was to their benefit or to the end that resulted in their desired outcome. But neither extreme was to the benefit of God’s desired end result – relationship with their creator and the spreading of the gospel. So, they needed course correction.
Like the Pharisees, we require course correction. Bummer for us, Jesus no longer physically walks this earth. BUT bonus for us, he’s placed us in our church family which is right here in Santa Clarita (not thousands miles away where Jesus did walk), where we can experience fellowship, accountability and some soul loving. However, we need to be obedient to engage, create those relationships, be transparent, etc.
- Where legalism exists, love dies and Satan/evil thrives.
Is there even one person who has read this that would side with Pharisees? Most human beings – probably even the not so nice ones – would read this and agree that Jesus did the “right” thing, the noble thing, the holy thing, the loving thing by providing healing…even though it was the Sabbath.
Life Application
They say what gets measured, improves. So, I challenge you (and I say this as much to you as I do to myself) to ask yourself these questions…then go to work at measuring and noting your progress.
God, I thank you that you do not call me to rules, but to relationship. I thank you that you love me enough to have given me healthy boundaries and guidelines to live withing…AND an incredibly Christ-following family to help keep me accountable. Lord, I pray that I would honor you in the way that I follow your commandments and that I would do so in a way that brings others closer to you as well. In your name I pray, Amen.
– Rei
As side note. The first couple times I read through this, the verse(s) that stuck out most were v. 13 & 14.
13 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. 14 But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.
It reminded me that sometimes people just have their own agendas and, even as we do good, they may not. May we remember that we serve a God with the power to “hold [our] head up.” The world may not always accept us, but that should never be our end game.
Matthew 11
Scripture
Matthew 11:28
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
Observation – What does it say?
Understanding – What does it mean?
If we aren’t experiencing rest and relief from our burdens, it’s our own fault.
Jesus has extended the invitation and promise; the ball is in our court. Unfortunately, too often we find ourselves weary and burdened but rather than responding to the invitation to come to Jesus, we seek alternative solutions (anything we turn to first, instead of Jesus, is an idol) – from alcohol and prescription drugs that numb, to other people we’ve developed a dependency on, to binge watching on Netflix, to long naps in the middle of the day.
Ephesians 5:18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit,
Someone once paraphrased this saying, “Don’t get drunk to forget your problems, get filled with the Spirit to conqueror your problems!” It may not be getting drunk, but fill in the blank with what you tend to turn to in effort to forget your problems. Why not come to Jesus and find true rest and true peace?
Life Application
Choose to come to Jesus.
As I write this, I’m feeling pretty overwhelmed and exhausted. It’s been a long week, lots of stuff going on that has been draining. And, as I look ahead there are some things happening over the several days that are weighing on my shoulders…. So this verse is really hitting home today.