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J & Z Publications
For George Verwer who helped us “look up to heaven”.
Versions Of The Bible Quoted
AV/KJV 1769 Authorized Version/King James Version (OnLine Bible®)
ISV 1996-2001, International Standard Version v1.2.2, Copyright © 1996-2001 The ISV Foundation. All rights reserved internationally. (e-Sword®)
MKJV 1962-1998 Modern King James, Copyright 1962-1998, Jay P. Green, Sr. All rights reserved. (e-Sword®)
NASB-u 1995 New American Standard Bible update, Copyright 1989-1998, The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. (BibliaMaestra®)
Look for other books by the author either in their entirety or in sections:
The Working Messiah: A Commentary On Mark
Inheritance: A Commentary On Joshua (In progress)
Kingdom: A Commentary On Matthew (In progress)
Feast: A Commentary On John (In progress) Contents
Preface Introduction
Where Did Jesus Get His Wisdom And Power? Matthew 13:53-15:20 Where Do You Get…? A Question Of Sources Struggles And Sources
I. 13:53-58 A Question At Nazareth Nazareth In A Quandary Hometown Assumptions A Valid Question? A Prophet At Home Jesus’ Humility My Response? The Use Of Questions Questions In Romans He Got It From The King, Of Course! Questions For Study
II. 14:1-11 Herod’s Answer A Royal Theory Ignorance and Superstition Other Possibilities? Birthday Of Blood Fables In The Cathedral Feasts Unto Death, Feasts Unto Life Questions For Study
III. 14:13-21 The 5000 Eat – Jesus Looks Up Looking Up To Heaven! Where Am I Looking? Thanks For The Meager Starting With Compassion Standing In The Need Worth Waiting For Into Africa Needy Children Aching Hands Instructions The Whole Person Ministers Questions For Study
IV. 14:22-36 Prayer Communication With Heaven Two Types Of Prayers Turn On The Tap! O And H2O Prayer Of Salvation Keep Your Ego And Drown! Green Day’s Lonely Beat Prayer In Faith Most Of My Life A Visitor Prayer And Wisdom In James Prayer And Worship Prayer Requests A Painful Existence? They Closed The Door And Prayed Do You Have A Mat? Questions For Study
V. 15:1-20 The Commands Of God Head To Head Washing Hands The Second Means Of Communication With Heaven I Could Help Mom And Dad But I’ll Give It To God Instead Heart Problem Number One: Hearts Far Away Blind Leaders Have No Eyes For Heaven Prayer And God’s Commands Turn Our Eyes To Heaven Heart Problem Number Two: Defiled Hearts Straight Strong Questions For Study
Let’s Review Questions to aid in the study of Matthew 13:53-15:20 (Repeated) An Approach To Studying And Preparing Messages Preface
I grew up in Nigeria, West Africa. My real name is John but my nickname is Jack and as a child they called me Jackie. In the area in which I lived the people spoke the Hausa language. In that language Jackie meant donkey. I wasn’t very happy with it. The Africans were very merciful and changed my name. They changed the “j” of Jackie to a “z”. The resulting word Zackie meant lion in their language. I was very happy with the change!
You’ll remember that there was a prophet in the Bible by the name of Balaam who disobeyed God. He was hired by the King of Moab to curse the children of Israel. On his way to meet that king an angel of God appeared in his way with a sword in his hand. The prophet didn’t see the angel but his donkey did. God caused the donkey to speak and she spoke to Balaam telling him that he was in danger. (Numbers 22:28)
So this book is written by a “donkey”, although a donkey who can’t match the integrity of Balaam’s donkey, about Jesus, who is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. You might pray that as you read this book that God will use the words of this donkey to speak to you and bless your heart. If you were wondering this also explains why I have used a donkey and a lion in the emblem for my publications!
(What I mention now is in reference to a trip I made to Brazil. I have had wonderful fellowship and encouragement from believers in so many countries.)
The outline found in this book has been the basis of messages I have preached. The book “fills out” the messages for further meditation and encouragement. May the Lord bless you as you read, meditate, study and share with others.
(Corresponding PowerPoint® presentation: Matthew 5th Division 1st Section WHERE DID JESUS GET) Introduction
There is much talk in our day about resourcing. In businesses, colleges, churches and other Christian ministries there are entire departments of “Human Resources” and ¨Development”, with very sophisticated computers and people who have studied just how to recruit a work force and how to raise funds. In ministry we talk about “resourcing” the work. We have to think about the sources from which the resources come.
Jesus knew the importance of recruiting workers for the spiritual harvest fields. He told his disciples to pray that the Lord of the harvest would send out workers into the harvest fields (Matthew 9:38). One of the great joys of our day is to see believers in Jesus from all over the world going out as workers to share the Good News about him. Recently on a trip to Brazil two of the Brazilians who translated for me had worked in Bosnia. A third person who translated had ministered in India, Portugal and Spain. A fourth person who helped me with translation was originally from Argentina, but with his wife are especially interested in the ministry in Azerbaijan, a country nestled amongst other countries and bordering the western shore of the Caspian Sea. It is an unusual land because it is split in two parts by the country of Armenia. To the west lies Turkey and to the south Iran. Russia and Georgia are its northern neighbors.
Workers are being raised up from many lands, places like New Guinea and Mongolia. The Evangelical Church of West Africa has fielded hundreds of African workers, about half of them ministering cross culturally.
While often the resources being referred to are either human or financial there are other things which are important as well. Wisdom and strength are greatly needed in the ministry.
While we may turn to a department of “experts” if we need personnel or finance, where do we turn for wisdom and power (strength)? Let’s remember that in business, family life and church or outreach we should turn to the Lord first and ask him for all these things. If you are a business person, or a person managing the home, and a believer do you go to the Lord and ask him for help first? That’s right, that’s where all of us should start, people in what we call the business world, or in household management or those who are in Christian ministry. So, where do you go first? Have you put the Lord first in your business, home and ministry?
Where Did Jesus Get His Wisdom And Power? Matthew 13:53-15:20
(PowerPoint, page 1)
Where Do I find…? Sometimes I go grocery shopping but I’m not as familiar with the stores as my wife is. I soon find myself asking someone in the store, “Where do I find…?” I am asking them where a certain item is, in which aisle and on which shelf. I have asked people where I can get things online via the Internet. I have asked people in which kind of store I can get a particular item. Recently I had to get a new passport and a visa to visit the country of Brazil. I had to start asking where I could get a passport and where I could get a visa. Sometimes we’re looking for things that are less expensive and so we ask where we can get the same item but for less. Sometimes we’re looking for somebody who can do a really good job on something and so we ask where to find somebody who is really capable.
A Question Of Sources After Jesus had finished giving the parables of chapter thirteen of Matthew he went on from there to his own hometown. At Nazareth he created quite a stir! The people there began to ask the question, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” (13:54)
Struggles And Sources I wonder if you are the kind of person who from time to time or even very often struggles for survival in the Christian life? I know that there are times when I have tremendous struggles and wonder if I can really carry on. I know I need to return to the Lord and ask for his strength and for his perseverance. I struggle with sin. I struggle with emotions. I struggle with questions of all kinds. I struggle because I feel weak. I struggle because I feel tired. I desperately need to return to the Lord, seeking his presence, finding his strength and learning to lean on him.
In their humanity the people of Nazareth probably went through many of these kinds of struggles. They had their days when they were “up” and they had their days when they were “down”. They also sensed that they were weak. They sinned. They were at times exhausted and tired. There were days when they did not want to carry on. Suddenly there appears a person amongst them who seems to have incredible power and incredible wisdom, way beyond anything that they possessed or had ever seen before! I. 13:53-58 A Question At Nazareth
(PowerPoint, page 2)
Nazareth In A Quandary Jesus was doing miracles and preaching in the synagogue in Nazareth. The way in which he spoke, and the things that he said, were incredible. They had never seen or heard anything like it before. But almost immediately they faced a problem. The person that was speaking was Jesus, someone who had grown up amongst them. They knew him as a boy and a young man. They probably had been impressed with how good a person he was as he grew up amongst them. However, they had never heard him preach in the synagogue or do miracles before. How could they explain all of this? They reassured themselves that Jesus had actually grown up amongst them. They “did a review” of his family. They mentioned his parents. They talked about his brothers and sisters. They were in a quandary as to how to respond to him.
Hometown Assumptions Because it was obvious that Jesus had not received his wisdom and miraculous powers from them they were offended. You see it was all very well and good that he had these wonderful things and was doing them amongst them but they had no idea where he had gotten them. They assumed that he had received everything he ever got from them. Where else would he have gotten these things from? Hadn’t he lived amongst them for over twenty years? Until just a few weeks ago he had lived with them every day. He had not gone off to Jerusalem to university to study but had worked with his father in his business there in Nazareth. He had only been away from Nazareth for a few weeks, when he went down to the Jordan River where John was baptizing, and then spent a few days at the feast in Jerusalem. (John 2:13-4:54) That was too short a time for him to have learned all of this wisdom and how to do all these miracles!
A Valid Question? While the question which they had raised about where Jesus had gotten his wisdom and powers was valid, they really wanted the answer to that question to be themselves. They wanted to think that Jesus had received everything he had from them. In a sense they didn’t really want to hear an answer that excluded them. They wanted to be the source of all that he had. Maybe we could call this hometown pride!
There is a sense in which all of us think that all the good things anybody could have would come from our culture. We are ethnocentric and carry that attitude over into areas of spirituality. We think that we live in a box and that there’s nothing outside that box or at least nothing of any worth. Maybe this is one of the reasons why we find it so hard to pray. We think that anything worthwhile must come from ourselves and our immediate environment and the people around us. We find it hard to think that we can reach out to God, who is way beyond ourselves, way beyond our culture and even way beyond our planet, in order to receive help, guidance and strength. Instead of honestly trying to learn where Jesus had received the good things that he had, they were offended. They really didn’t want to hear what he had to say because they felt self sufficient.
I wonder if the same attitude is lurking in me? Am I able to learn from other people around me? Am I willing and able to learn from people in other cultures? Most of all, am I willing and able to learn from God? While sometimes we go on wondering whether there are intelligent beings in other parts of our universe we continue to ignore many of the promises and good things that God, the creator of the universe, has given to us in his Word.
A Prophet At Home I suppose that if the Teacher who appeared in Nazareth that day had come from a different part of the country, someone the people in Nazareth did not know ever since his childhood, they might have been much more open to his message and his ministry. They might have assumed that he had received these things in the place that he was from. This is in fact exactly what Jesus said about a prophet not being accepted in his own home country and hometown. Sometimes we give the benefit of the doubt to a person who’s from somewhere else or who is a relative stranger. Sometimes we are very demanding of those who live immediately around us, especially our own family.
Jesus’ Humility Jesus could have been of tremendous benefit to the people of his hometown. He could have taught them day after day in the synagogue and they would have learned wonderful things about God. He could have healed many of the people in town with various diseases and cast out demons. He might have raised some folks from the dead. But they wouldn’t have it and he was amazed at their unbelief. However, instead of calling fire down from heaven on them he simply accepted their judgment and moved on from there. Jesus truly acted in humility. He could have chastised them very severely but he didn’t.
My Response? If someone were to do the very same thing to us how would we respond? Would we respond in humility and meekness? We notice that he healed a few sick folk. Maybe there were a few in the town who were open to his ministry and he was able to help those. It is amazing that in a midst of all this rejection and offensive attitude that he would have waited even for a minute to help anybody! But he did find those few who did want his help and he did help them. In the midst of rejection are we sensitive enough to find people that need help and give them some help? It really is a test of our perseverance, our patience and our love and concern for people. I don’t know if I would have had the patience or humility to respond the way that Jesus did. When we offer our help to others and they reject it, it is truly a test which is hard to pass.
The Use Of Questions The answer to the question that the people of Nazareth asked is given here in the Bible but not within this story. We find the answer a little bit further ahead. In fact somebody else in Galilee is asking a similar question to that question which the people in Nazareth were asking. But before we get to that let’s just make another observation for those of you who are Bible students. One of the ways in which rabbis taught their students was on the basis of question and answer. We find in this part of Matthew from chapter 13:53 over to the end of chapter 18, which forms one division of Matthew, that Matthew uses questions to organize his material. The first question we are dealing with right now. Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers? The other three questions I will leave for other books that I hope to be writing on this division of Matthew. The Jewish rabbis’ use of questions with their students is very similar to the kind of approach that is used in catechisms. Organized under different themes a series of questions with their theological and moral answers is given. In the same way Matthew uses a question to open up this portion of his gospel.
Questions In The Letter To The Romans Paul used questions in his letter to the Romans to introduce ideas and get people to think. Consider a few of them and a part of their answers:
6:1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? 6:2 May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? 6:3 Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? (NASB-u)
6:15 ¶ What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be! 6:16 Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? (NASB-u)
7:1 Or do you not know, brethren (for I am speaking to those who know the law), that the law has jurisdiction over a person as long as he lives? 7:7 ¶ What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, "You shall not covet."(NASB-u)
Let’s set aside the attitude that Nazareth displayed and pursue this question and its answer. Just where did Jesus get his wisdom and power? One of the things that sometimes frustrates me is not being able to find the answer to a question within the immediate context. The story of what happened to Jesus in Nazareth doesn’t give us the answer to the question about where he got his wisdom and power. It took me many years of Bible study to begin to realize that the answer to some questions in the stories in the gospel were not within the context of the story itself but somewhere nearby in another story or teaching. We’ll find that this is true in this case.
He Got It From The King, Of Course! Someone might say, “I’ve got it. I’ve got the answer! I know where Jesus got his wisdom and power. He got it from the king, king Herod, of course. The king is the highest authority in the land with the greatest resources. He must have gotten it from the king. After all, don’t kings rule by divine right?” Ah, but Matthew soon sets us straight on that account. The next story will tell us how.
Questions For Study 1. What is the key question in these five stories? (13:53-58) 2. Who asked the question and why did they ask? What was their response to Jesus and what was his to them? (13:53-58) II. 14:1-11 Herod’s Answer
(PowerPoint, page 3)
A Royal Theory The author of this gospel transports us from the scene in Nazareth to another one in the palace of Herod who was King over Galilee. You see the people of Nazareth were not the only ones asking where Jesus got his miraculous powers. The King of the country was also asking the same thing. He also had his theory as to what the answer was. He had heard reports about what Jesus was doing and thought he had an answer to why Jesus was displaying so much power. He told his attendants that he thought that Jesus was actually John the Baptist raised from the dead. Having been raised from the dead these powers were at work in him. Jesus and John were being discussed in high places, Herod's court! Ignorance And Superstition Herod’s answer showed signs of ignorance and superstition. First of all he didn’t realize that Jesus and John the Baptist had actually been living at the same time. If they had been living at the same time how could one be the resurrection of the other? Secondly there is no guarantee that if somebody is raised from the dead that they will be able to do miracles. John records in his gospel that Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead but there is no record that Lazarus ever did miracles after he came back from the dead (John 11). Other Possibilities? When we ask the question where did Jesus get his wisdom and power, what are some of the possible answers? Here is a short list:
Birthday Of Blood Another family is described in this story. You’ll remember that Jesus’ family is mentioned in the first story. But what a contrast between the two families! Everything we know about Jesus’ family is that they were God fearing people. The family of Herod is quite a different story! Flavius Josephus detailed all the ambitious murderous conniving of Herod and his family in his writings. It was quite incredible how they murdered one another. (Thrones of Blood, Flavius Josephus, Translated by William Whiston, Barbour Publishing, 1998) To anyone reading this story for the first time they might find it shocking that John the Baptist was killed in this way on Herod’s birthday, but this was typical of the way that Herod the Great and his children lived and died…and celebrated birthdays!
Fables In The Cathedral We had the opportunity to take a guided tour of a cathedral in one of the countries where we were ministering. The guide took us from room to room. In one of them we noticed a head severed from the body lying on a shelf. When we asked what it was, the guide said that it was the head of John the Baptist, the real head of John the Baptist. He surprised us still more when he added that in his country, in four other locations, they had more authentic heads of John the Baptist!
So, of course, we asked the guide about the case of John the Baptist. How did John get his head cut off? He began to tell us the “story”. He said that 2000 years ago, in the time of Jesus, there was a king and a prophet. The prophet was John the Baptist. The king and the prophet both fell in love with the same maiden. Because the king wielded more influence and power, he killed the prophet, and took the woman.
For many people it's all the same whether the guide knew the true story or not. For those who know the Bible, they know that the tour guide's story was not correct. In fact, sometimes you hear fantastic things from people, when it has to do with biblical events. It is evident that the Word of God is not taught to the masses, or that the masses of people do not attend church, or do not listen to the preachers. Those, called Christian leaders, who do not teach the Bible will have to give account to God, for laying aside his precious Word.
The Bible tells us that Herod celebrated his birthday and that the daughter of Herodias, his brother’s wife, with whom he lived in adultery, danced before him. She thrilled her audience and Herod promised her up to half his kingdom. She went out and asked her mother what she should request and Herodias demanded the head of John the Baptist. Herod had it in for John because he had preached against his adultery so Herod had put John in prison. He was afraid to kill him because the people believed he was a prophet. But now at his birthday he was embarrassed to refuse the request before all his guests, so ordered John beheaded. The head was brought to the girl on a platter and she carried it to her mother. John’s disciples buried his body and then went and told Jesus.
This is the story of how Herod treated John. Someone might ask why Jesus didn’t rescue John from Herod? But then we must ask why Jesus was not rescued from an even worse fate on the cross? They both gave their lives for righteousness sake and Jesus for the sins of the world, including sins like those of Herod.
Feasts Unto Death, Feasts Unto Life We don’t find the answer to the question here but we do see that more than one set of people are asking the question, “Where did this man get his wisdom and power?” We have been talking about a feast in which Herod celebrated his birthday, and now we move on to another feast in which Jesus fed over 5,000 people. Herod’s feast which celebrated his birth, and presumably was sumptuous, ended in death, death for a man of God. This next feast in which Jesus multiplied a few loaves meant life for a multitude of people. Jesus’ resources were meager but he increased what there was available. Herod by contrast reduced the blessing of the people of his kingdom by executing John, a prophet of God.
So what is the answer to the question, “Where does this man get his wisdom and power?” It is found in the next story, the third story in our series of five stories.
Questions For Study 1. Who else was keenly interested in where Jesus got his great wisdom and miraculous powers? What was on his conscience if he had one? (14:1-11) 2. What was his theory about Jesus’ powers and why could that theory not be true? (14:1-11) III. 14:13-21 The 5000 Eat – Jesus Looks Up
(PowerPoint, page 4)
Looking Up To Heaven! The answer is found in verse 19 where we read, Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves (v.19 NIV) There is the answer! Jesus looked up to heaven, gave thanks and then broke the loaves. Jesus’ source of wisdom and power was heaven!
Where Am I Looking? When you or I are in need where do we look? Whether it is our own need or other’s needs where can we turn? Our own strength? Someone else here on earth? My boss? My spouse? My parents? My children? My neighbor? My professor? My friend? My money? My education? My pastor? My extended family? My gifting? Ultimately these sources are all as weak as we are. We can help each other but we are limited. Ultimately we must turn to the Lord. We must lift our eyes to heaven! Where else can we turn? The world, the elements, our sin, other’s sins become too big for us and we are overwhelmed.
It could be worse. Maybe we are not even trying to find help or look for help from others, or even for others. Maybe our eyes are on big bucks (Either money or deer!), new houses, flashy cars, sexual entertainment, or something that belongs to another.
Thanks For The Meager There is a beautiful detail here that must not be missed! Jesus also gave thanks, but look at the situation in which he gave thanks! He was not sitting down to a sumptuous feast with just his own family or a few friends. This situation is not like Herod’s birthday party in the story just prior to this one. I think we can assume that that was a sumptuous dinner. It might be easy to give thanks then. He was giving thanks for just a few pieces of bread and two fish in the heart of a hungry multitude! That is giving thanks out of the comfort zone! He had far too little material resource, and why bother with all these people, who were mostly relative strangers to him, anyway? No, Jesus, in the middle of all that pressure simply gave thanks! He is an example of the exhortation to ‘In everything give thanks…’ (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
Starting With Compassion You see the multitudes had gathered to him and he taught them. As he looked at them he was moved with compassion. His compassion moved him to help them spiritually and eventually to help them physically by feeding them bread and fish. Jesus was involved with the people in his heart. He was moved with compassion.
Standing In The Need
Jesus’ feet were
involved with the people. He stood in the middle of the need. He did not
run away. He didn’t drag his followers off to a monastery to keep them
sheltered from the world. He stood where the need was. Are my feet
standing in the middle of the need? Or, am I running away?
Worth Waiting For You may be someone who has faithfully witnessed to a friend for many years. You have “stood where the need was” ministering to that person you love and care for. Antonia Arbalat, wife of OM Spain leader Pedro Arbalat, had shared the Gospel with her neighbor for 19 years but Elia had not made any response. Antonia went to a weekend conference in Madrid with a church group. She invited Elia, and a relative called Mari, who had occasionally attended church. One night, Antonia spoke with these two women until the early hours of the morning. The next day, both women accepted Jesus. They have started to attend church and people in the town are commenting that both of them have changed!
Into Africa As I write this, in a few days, my wife and I will be going to visit my father in Florida. He is a retired missionary who invested the very best and strongest years of his life caring for the people of northwestern Nigeria. Day after day, he opened the small clinic that he ran and bound up the wounds and gave medicine to the sick. When the malady was beyond his means, he took them to hospital in Birnin Kebbi. Day after day he shared the good news with the people who came to the clinic.
On certain afternoons he would travel to outlying towns with a “medical box” and a gramophone, to play songs and messages in Hausa to those who gathered. The gramophone housed a spring inside and you had to wind it up with a crank to make it play. The voices that came out of the box were authentic Hausa speakers the audience could understand easily. At the same time my dad was a very good Hausa speaker. Living and working in the USA his ability with the language would have been lost. The Lord had a very specific place for him in our world with the abilities God gave him. Mom went to be with the Lord in November of 2001, not long after 9-11. She worked along side him visiting the ladies in our town of Andarai, and joining him on treks for 3 days to other towns.
Nigeria has the largest population of any country in Africa. Over 400 languages are spoken, although languages like Ibo, Hausa and Yoruba dominate as trade languages. The church needs prayer. It is easy to look on people from other groups in the country as the Jews looked upon the Samaritans. Maybe it is a little like Catholics and Protestants have looked on each other in Europe and America. Pray that the church will look up, will love each other, and love their neighbors, whoever they may be.
Needy Children Lest anyone believe all is rosy in the world, and I don’t think there are many with that mind set, let’s look at what many children in our world face today. The following catalogue of crying needs from various sources should drive us to our knees and then to further action.
2. 250,000 children and young people are infected with HIV/AIDS every month. 3. It is estimated that 25 million will have lost one or both parents to AIDS by 2010. 4. 130 million children lack access to education. 5. 246 million children are child-laborers. 6. 8.4 million children are trapped in slavery, trafficking, debt, bondage, prostitution, pornography and other illicit activities. 7. 300,000 young people under 18 are exploited as child-soldiers. 8. 30,000 children die every day from preventable diseases.
You might ask, “How can I pray for children in their desperate plight?” Pray like this:
3. Pray for the development and growth of ministries that specialize in ministering to HIV/AIDS children. (Prayer Update, OM Canada, October 2005)
Aching Hands Jesus’ hands were involved. He broke the bread. Not for Jesus the attitude referred to in Proverbs 21:25, The desire of the lazy man kills him, for his hands have refused to work (MKJV). The mind boggles when you begin to think just how tiring it would have been to physically break pieces of bread for a “few” hours as he fed the people. His hands would have started aching before the half hour! Maybe his disciples also were involved in the breaking of the bread? The text says he broke the bread and gave them to his disciples and they gave them to the people, so apparently the disciples did not break the bread. Jesus was simply involved in some very hard, tiring work on behalf of the people.
Thank the Lord for the strength he has given you in your fingers and hands to type those letters for your boss or cook for your family. Thank the Lord for the strength he has put in your hands and fingers to serve food to the street children who come to your church or NGO for food. Praise God for the people you have been able to serve with your hands in the gospel missions, in the “villas”, or “favelas”, or at a food kitchen after Hurricane Katrina (September 2005), or the Tsunami in south Asia (December 2004), or the earthquake in Pakistan (October 2005).
We could add to the list many names of both catastrophic events as well the names of those who quietly served others in their time of need. Thank Jesus for the Bibles and tracts you have been able to hand out by the hundreds and thousands with those hands God gave you, tracts, gospels and leaflets that tell people about the Savior. What about those fingers that have grasped nails and hammers to build church buildings where believers could meet and worship the Lord? Praise God from whom all blessings flow, even the blessing of having and using our hands!
Instructions Jesus told his disciples to bring the food and the crowd to sit down. He had a plan and told them what to do. He also gave thanks. Jesus used his mouth to speak to both God and man, and he did it as he ministered to the needs of the people. There are those who cry out constantly about the mess our world is in and how we need to help people in their need, and they are right. Sadly however, they never mention the Lord or ever give him thanks. On the other hand, maybe there are those who constantly talk about the Lord and pray to him but never ever lift a hand to help their fellow human beings. Jesus gave us the balance between these two extremes. Ever present in his thinking were the needs of the people and the presence of God.
The Whole Person Ministers In Jesus’ case the heart was involved for he had compassion on the people. His head was involved because he thought about their needs and devised a plan to help them. His speech and mouth were involved because he spoke to God and instructed the people as to what they were to do. His feet were involved because instead of running away he stood in the midst of the need. His hands were involved because he took the bread and broke it for them. Finally Jesus’ eyes were raised to heaven which is the answer to the question that we’ve been asking! Jesus’ resources were in heaven, so he looked up.
Let’s consider how we use the various parts of our body. Are you using your heart in a compassionate way? Are you thinking through how you can help others? Are you thinking about the Lord in the midst of the need? Are you sharing with other people what they need to know about the lord? Are you standing with your feet in the middle of the need? Are you using your hands to help other people with their needs? And where are your eyes? Are they fixed on heaven?
Lift Up Your Eyes And Enjoy! Our cousin’s farm is about a mile outside of the town where we live. I often take our dog and their dogs for walks in the fields on the farm. It is good exercise for me, as well as for the dogs. More than once I have caught myself trudging along through the fields, with my head down, my eyes on the ground and my mind deep in concentration on some difficulty I am facing. It is then that the thought comes to me that I am missing all the beauty around me. I look up to see the fields of grain, the lush alfalfa, the woods in the distance and the breathtaking sunsets! But to see all that I have to lift my eyes! It reminds me of the need to lift my eyes up to heaven as Jesus did, and give thanks, because ultimately all we have comes from heaven.
Questions For Study 1. How did Jesus involve his whole being in his ministry to the people? Name the parts of his body and how he used them to glorify God and serve the people. How are we using the parts of our body to glorify the Lord and help others? (14:12-21) 2. In which story do we find the answer to the question, “Where did Jesus get his wisdom and power?” What was that answer? Could there be any other answer? (14:12-21)
IV. 14:22-36 Prayer
(PowerPoint, page 5)
Communication With Heaven The answer to our question, “Where did Jesus get his wisdom and power?” was heaven. In the following two stories we will find emphasized the two means by which we can communicate with heaven. These two means are prayer and the Word of God. In prayer we speak to God, and he to us by his Word. It’s not surprising to find Jesus, after feeding the 5000, going up into the mountain to pray
Two Types Of Prayers After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside to pray (v. 23 NIV). After that very busy day Jesus went up into a mountain to pray. Jesus combined two aspects of prayer on that day. On the one hand, we see him saying a short prayer of thanks before distributing the loaves to the 5000. On the other hand, we also see him going up into a mountain to spend more time in prayer. Both kinds of prayer are needed. There will be moments when we have only a few seconds to offer a prayer to God. On other occasions we can spend much more time in his presence.
Nehemiah found this true in his own experience. In chapter one of his book, when asked by the King why his face was sorrowful he sent a quick prayer up to God that he would guide him as he spoke to the King about his concern for the city of Jerusalem. Later on in the book we find him offering prayers to God on various occasions which would have been longer prayers.
We can do the same. Some of us might be quite gifted at the short prayers and find longer periods of prayer a bit more difficult. We’re not used to depending upon the Lord. The world around us and our society often do not take him very seriously. They have not seen how God answers prayer. We’re so used to depending upon ourselves and if we can’t do that, we depend on others. Of course, some people don’t like to ask others for help either! They wouldn’t be asking others for help and they certainly wouldn’t be asking God for help!
Turn On The Tap! When I was a child we lived in a rural part of Africa where there was no running water. My father built a frame behind the house which supported 2 fifty-five gallon drums at roof top level. A pipe ran from the pump at the well in the garden up to the drums. That was how they were filled by pumping the water up the pipes.
When we opened the taps in the house other pipes brought the water down into the house and in that way we could say we had “running water”! The pressure of gravity forced the water down the pipes and through the taps.
In order to receive the water we simply had to open the tap. The water flowed down and out the tap. In the same way we could say there is much blessing and help available to us in heaven, ready to flow downwards to us. As we pray it is as though we open the tap and God’s blessings and help flow down to us.
O And H2O What we have often forgotten is that we receive so many things from God that we take for granted. The oxygen that we breathe every day was created by him. No human being invented oxygen. Many, many centuries after it was created people finally were able to describe its characteristics and give it a name. We could not survive without oxygen, and yet none of us was the source of oxygen. God was the source of oxygen.
Stop for a minute, and think about water. Without water our planet would be an empty desert. Without water we have nothing to drink and would die. Even other drinks we enjoy are largely made of water. What would we wash with? About 66% of our body is water. We would shrink to a tiny pile of chemicals if all the water in our bodies suddenly disappeared. As our telescopes scan the universe we find again and again that there is no planet like ours. A large percentage of our planet is actually water. None of us invented water. God created it. So, let’s give him thanks for all these wonderful things that he has supplied.
Prayer Of Salvation After feeding them Jesus sent the people away and he went into the mountain to pray alone, but the boat full of disciples was caught in a storm. Jesus made his way out on the sea and approached the boat. When the disciples saw him they thought he was a ghost and cried out in fear. Jesus calmed their fears and told them to take courage. Peter responded by saying, If it’s really you Lord command me to come to you on the water (14:28 NIV). Jesus told him to come. But as Peter’s eyes began to look at the raging wind he started to sink. It is important where we put our eyes. Remember, Jesus at the point of need, looked up to heaven.
As Peter began to sink he cried out to the Lord to save him. The prayer of salvation is really the very first prayer that the Lord wants to hear from us. We may think that we are powerful and strong enough to handle all of the situations of life but we are not able to. It’s interesting that many people come to the Bible seeking God’s law and try to fulfill it. They say to the Lord that they are prepared to have him give them his commandments and they try to keep them. But like Peter they soon find out that they can’t do it and they sink. They sink in their own sins and inability to keep God’s commands. At that point those who are wise and understanding will call out to the Lord to save them. They know that they cannot save themselves. That’s what Peter did, call out to the Lord, as he began to sink into the waves.
Keep Your Ego And Drown! Peter might well have said, “I’m not going to cry out as though I were helpless!” Of course, he would have drowned. That’s a decision many of us have to make about Jesus. If Jesus really is the Savior, and if we cannot save ourselves, then we must cry out to him to save us. That is very hard on the ego! We have got to decide; it’s either ourselves or our ego. One of the two has to go. We cannot keep our ego and our lives.
Green Day’s Beat Is Lonely In its “Boulevard of Broken Dreams”, the band Green Day “invites” us down their lonely beat. They describe accurately the plight of so many. Someone feels the need for salvation and expresses it in one of their lines which I give in my own words, “At times I’d hope somebody somewhere would stumble upon me.” (Boulevard Of Broken Dreams, Green Day, Reprise Records. 2004.) Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost, but not everyone is listening… You see we each need to be found by someone bigger than anyone on earth!
Prayer In Faith Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?" (14:31 NASB-u)
When we ask the Lord to give us his commands we must ask in faith, not doubting, that what he wants us to do is the very best thing for us. As we falter and sin we must keep coming back to him in faith. We realize that in ourselves we don’t have the strength either to carry out his commands or to save ourselves so we must go to him in faith. The size of faith depends upon the size of its object. Our faith is large when we realize just how great the object of our faith is. If we realize that the object of our faith is Jesus, who created the heavens and the earth, and who came to this earth to redeem us, then our faith grows. We might have great faith in an object that is worthless and, consequently, our faith will be worthless. However, Jesus is the worthy object of our faith. He demonstrated his love, his care, his holiness, and his power to the people of his day. They have reported to us and we have believed their report!
In fact their report builds our faith. The apostle Paul wrote in Romans 10:17, So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ (NASB-u). So the very word which commands us is the same word that strengthens us to perform it. Perfect! Nothing could be more encouraging!
Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous will live by his faith (Habakkuk 2:4). Humbling ourselves before the Lord’s commands is the right way to go, because his Word builds us up.
Most Of My Life Who would have thought I would spend the better part of my life in connection with someone who would help me look up to heaven? For some, all you have to do is mention George Verwer, and they think of the one who inspired many of us to pray. George has often said that he feels he is a person with many struggles, and he has mentioned openly his sins and failures. Some of those who decided to join the ranks of OM decided to do that because they got time with George and learned that he was not perfect, that he was open about his sin and willing to repent. Week after week for decades he has gathered people around him, often small groups, to pray. The team devotional times in Bromley, Kent, UK always included prayer. When George met you after a time away he would pray. Over the phone he would pray. He led and had others lead evenings and nights of prayer.
Don’t think those long periods of prayer were always idyllic or loaded with passion! Sometimes they were a struggle. Sometimes we went to sleep, but we were not the first ones to do that. Peter and other disciples of Jesus went to sleep while he prayed in Gethsemane. Anyone who gives the impression that times of prayer will always be “short and sweet” has been fooled. With one side of our mouths we say that prayer is difficult, but then expect any prayer meeting we might attend to be easy and enthusiastic all the time. Let’s not forget what Jesus said in Gethsemane after he prayed,
37 And He came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, "Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? 38 Keep watching and praying that you may not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." (Mark 14:37, 38 NASB-u)
While I have not known personally many of the outstanding leaders of churches and missions I have met enough leaders to know that George’s emphasis on prayer is quite unusual. He helped us who focus on the earth to lift our eyes to heaven.
A Visitor He used to come to the evenings of prayer in Bromley. He was a school teacher in Kent, England. Although George Verwer invited people to come not many “rushed” to the prayer evenings who were not on the OM team. Maybe some on the team didn’t exactly rush to get there themselves, including me, even though I always sensed a burden to go, struggling as I went. We enjoyed the visits of Gareth Bolton. He would share prayer requests with us from his own life and work as a school teacher. He told us about the students and parents to whom he was witnessing. Gareth was enthusiastic.
Over the years Gareth started preaching and today is a fulltime evangelist and Bible teacher, overseeing a charity that he founded, which is helping people around the world. If you don’t find Gareth preaching in the Philippines, he will be in India, or Austria, preaching and teaching the Good News about Jesus, and looking for ways to help the needy both spiritually and physically.
Faith And Wisdom In James 5 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, 8 being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways (James 1:5-8 NASB-u).
James mentions asking for wisdom. Do you remember what our original question was? Where did Jesus get his wisdom and miraculous powers? James exhorts us to ask for wisdom and make sure we do it in faith. If we don’t ask in faith we will not receive anything from the Lord because we are double minded. Let’s ask in faith! James reminds us that we’re asking God for wisdom. God is the one who gives to all generously and without reproach. He is the object of our faith. We can go to him in the confidence that he is able to do all things. So, let’s ask in faith!
Prayer And Worship vv. 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind stopped. 33 And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, "You are certainly God's Son!" (vv. 31-33 NASB-u)
When he answers us and saves us, as he did the disciples in their boat, in that wild storm, we cannot but respond to him in worship. We find that worship involves both attitude and expression. Those disciples who were overwhelmed by a storm on the sea, saw Jesus calm that storm and in response worshipped him. They couldn’t quell the storm. They were in danger of drowning. They witnessed as Jesus rescued Peter from the water. Then they saw him quiet the wind and the sea. This influenced their attitude and so they worshiped him.
At the same time, in their worship they said something very definite. They proclaimed him as the Son of God. Sometimes God has given us wonderful times of worship as we have called out the various names and expressions of who Jesus is. Here are just few of his titles and names which express who he is, and who he is to those who have trusted him. The Lamb of God; the Messiah, or anointed One; the Lion of the tribe of Judah; the Savior; the King of Kings and Lord of Lords; the good Shepherd; the Way, the Truth, and the Life; the Resurrection and the Life; Redeemer; the Bright and Morningstar; Friend of sinners; the Alpha and the Omega, or the First and the Last; the true and faithful Witness; the Word of God, and many other titles belong to the Lord Jesus Christ. In worship we declare who Jesus is.
Prayer Requests The people ran around the lake and found Jesus again and begged him to heal them. The crowds represent to us another aspect of prayer, that of bringing a request to God and asking him to help. Whether we have physical difficulties, spiritual challenges or sinful attitudes, seeking the Lord in prayer is primary to any kind of survival. The people who followed Jesus around the lake from place to place were not dumb. They had learned something very important. Jesus had a source of wisdom and power that they needed, so they came to him.
A Painful Existence? Do you need to stop all that you’re doing and ask the Lord for help in some area right now? Why are you waiting? Do it right now. You may think that your situation is impossible and that there is no answer for the problems or heart ache that you face. I would like to challenge you to go to Jesus in all of your need and ask him for help. If your situation has gotten way beyond what you can handle, then it is time to turn to the Lord Jesus.
Those folks in Galilee who brought their maimed, blind, lame and deaf brought them because they could not do anything for themselves. You may be living an excruciatingly painful existence emotionally, physically or spiritually and it’s time to turn to the Lord. Stop right now, get on your knees and ask him to rescue you from your situation. You may need to do more than pray but this is where you must begin.
Often as we begin to pray the Lord begins to clear our minds and our emotions and help us think more clearly about what we’re facing. Sometimes The answer to our need maybe staring us in the face and we haven’t been able to see it, but the Lord clarifies our thinking and helps us to see the things that we cannot see on our own. He will also help us get beyond our ego and lean a little bit more on him, and on others for help.
Sometimes our problems aren’t quite as big as we think they are. When we face problems our emotions may respond very badly and the bigger problem of the two is our emotions. As we pray and read God’s Word he can clarify our thinking and our emotions so that we can approach our problems and difficulties more rationally.
They Closed The Door And Prayed I have been greatly encouraged and challenged by the prayer life of the Chinese house church. “The religious life of Christians in the house churches could be said to consist in equal measure in testimony and prayer. Just as meetings were often ‘witness meetings’ so they were also ‘prayer meetings’. Here complete dependence on God was expressed in the simplest way. When something happened, one testified, they would just close the door and pray. A woman, imprisoned, was once approached by Communist guards because of another particularly difficult female prisoner whom no one could handle. Could she do anything for this person? She began to pray and gradually the other woman began to change; beginning to groom herself and dress normally. When the guards asked what the Christian had done she replied: “I had no strength to help her, and I believed God could change her.”(Invitation To Cross-Cultural Theology, William A. Dyrness, p. 56, Zondervan, 1992.)
Do You Have A Mat? After reading the following I found a small rug and started to kneel in prayer, something I should have done long ago.
“In rural Zhejiang around 1980, it was reported: ‘Every Christian has a straw mat at home. Whenever they run into any difficulty they kneel down and pray. When the brothers and sisters see each other, they seldom talk about how they are and what has happened and so forth (instead) they kneel down and pray. Thus, the might and miracles of God are seen there.’” (Invitation To Cross-Cultural Theology, William A. Dyrness, pp. 56, 57, Zondervan, 1992.)
In the Chinese house churches they are moved to look up to heaven.
Questions For Study 1. Describe the various aspects of prayer illustrated by the fourth story. 2. Which of these aspects of prayer are strongest in your life? In the life of your local church? In the life of your mission? Which aspects of prayer could be strengthened? How? (14:22-36) V. 15:1-20 The Commands Of God
(PowerPoint, page 6)
Head To Head As far as I can remember Jesus never grabbed a person and “chewed” him out for murdering somebody. He did however, get very upset with the Pharisees and other religious leaders because of the burdens that they put on people through their traditions. They taught the people to obey the rules and regulations that God had never given. These were rules and regulations that they and their ancestors who were religious leaders had placed on their own people. It was just a lot of extra religious baggage!
Washing Hands The Pharisees attacked Jesus’ disciples for breaking the tradition of the elders, who had taught people to wash their hands in a specific way, for religious reasons, before eating. You and I know that it is a good idea to wash hands in order to be clean physically. That is not what the Pharisees were interested in. They were interested in people keeping a series of rites that had nothing to do with physical cleanliness and nothing to do with God’s Word.
First let us sort out what are the true requirements.
“And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? Thus you nullify the Word of God for the sake of your tradition?” (vv.3, 6 NASB-u)
God had revealed his will through his Word, through Moses and the prophets. Tradition was man’s revelation. Tradition was simply rules and regulations made up by human beings. Jesus was very angry that they should set aside and break the command of God for the sake of their traditions. They nullified God’s Word by doing this.
The Second Means Of Communication With Heaven We have now come to the second means of communication with heaven, the direction in which Jesus raised his eyes before he broke the bread. The command of God, or the Word of God, is his communication to us. The apostle Paul explained to Timothy the value of the Scriptures and to preach the Word of God because there would be benefits to his listeners as the result of knowing it.
16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be complete and thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16, 17 ISV)
1 In the presence of God and Christ Jesus, who is going to judge those who are living and those who are dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I solemnly appeal to you 2 to proclaim the message. Be ready to do this whether or not the time is convenient. Refute, warn, and encourage with the utmost patience when you teach. (2 Timothy 4:1, 2 ISV)
I Could Help Mom And Dad But I’ll Give It To God Instead Jesus condemned the Pharisees when he said, And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’ But you say that if a man says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me as a gift you voted to God,’ he is not to ‘honor his father’ with it. Thus you nullify the Word of God for the sake of your tradition (Matthew 15:3 - 6 NIV). It is all very well and good to give to God but not if you're stealing from your parents. By doing this a person would treat his parents shabbily and at the same time think he was gaining “brownie points” with God. God could see through the whole farce. That person was not honoring his parents as God had told him to.
Heart Problem Number One: Hearts Far Away Jesus quoted Isaiah when he described the people as honoring God with their lips but having hearts which were far away from him. Jesus “nails” the first heart problem that the religious rulers have. Later he will mention another one.
Blind Leaders Have No Eyes For Heaven The disciples point out to Jesus that what he said had offended the Pharisees. Jesus makes a very clear statement about the character of the Pharisees. He boldly and clearly tells them the Pharisees are blind guides. I doubt whether there were many physically blind Pharisees, but having no eyes for heaven, they were blind as far as heaven and it resources were concerned, and as far as the Person was concerned who was behind heaven’s resources. The Pharisees’ eyes were not on heaven; they were on the rules their forefathers had made up to replace the commands of God. They in turn led the people who were also blind, and their end would be the pit.
Prayer And God’s Commands Turn Our Eyes To Heaven It is no wonder Matthew used these last two stories about prayer and God’s commands. We are taught through prayer and God’s commands to look towards heaven.
Heart Problem Number Two: Defiled Hearts Jesus turned to the people and began to teach them that what goes into the mouth did not defile a man but what came out of him. Out of the heart came all kinds of sins and sinful attitudes. Let’s not point fingers at this juncture but simply think quietly and soberly about our own sins. Here is the list of seven that Jesus gave:
15:19 For out of the heart come
evil thoughts, The people of Nazareth took offense at Jesus (13:57).
murders, Herod’s execution of John was a murder (14:10).
adulteries, Herod and Herodias lived in adultery (14:4).
fornications, Sexual sin akin to what Herod and Herodias were doing (14:3).
thefts, Herod took John’s freedom away and then his life (14:3, 10).
false witness, In a sense the Pharisees were false witnesses for God (15:8).
slanders…” The Pharisees accuse the disciples of breaking the traditions of the elders (15:2).
John Adams was ambassador to Great Britain shortly after the American Revolutionary War, and while he was ambassador he wrote to congress about the kind of government he desired to see become a reality in the United States, among other things a government of three branches. One of the main reasons they needed a government with ‘checks and balances’ was the struggle they faced with human nature. He had already written Thoughts on Government, but now he was to make a special emphasis on the problems faced with human nature. I quote from David McCullough’s book. “He (John Adams) quoted Rousseau’s description of ‘that hideous sight, the human heart,’ and recounted that even Dr. Priestly had said that such were the weaknesses and folly of men, ‘that their love of domination, selfishness, and depravity,’ that none could be elevated above others without risk of danger.” (John Adams, David McCullough, p. 377, Simon & Schuster, 2001)
If politicians can be concerned about the depravity of mankind how much more must we be concerned as believers and ministers of the Gospel. And this concern starts with us, with me, with myself! Oh, how we must return constantly to God’s Word to be examined, rebuked, corrected, straightened out and then built back up and encouraged!
Straight Zerubbabel was the governor of God’s people when they returned from captivity in Babylon. He was given a vision through the prophet Zechariah in which God said that there would be rejoicing on the day they saw the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. (Zechariah 4: 10) A plumb line is a weight on the end of a piece of string, which is placed next to a wall to see whether that wall is going up perpendicularly and whether it is straight.
Zerubbabel was the leader and the person who had to go about the temple making sure the walls were straight. Their enemies had caused the Persian king to cancel the building of the temple and they had stopped building for about 16 years. Now God exhorts them to return to the building in spite of the decree. It is a moment of fear and tension but Zerubbabel leads the people back to building by picking up his plumb line, his tool, and leading them back to the building site. God’s Word is like a plumb line which is placed next to our lives to see whether we are growing up in accordance with God’s desires.
Strong Further God encouraged his people by saying that the building and completing of the temple would not be by might and not by power but by God’s Spirit (Zechariah 4:6)! The Lord would actually make the king look back through his “computer files” and find the original decree of Cyrus the Great, ordering the Jews to return, and giving them material help in the building of God’s temple in Jerusalem. The king complied with the original decree and commanded even their enemies to help them in the task of rebuilding God’s house! God’s Word straightens us out and strengthens us!
Questions For Study 1. How does the fifth story emphasize the importance of God’s commands, or God’s Word? What was substituted in place of God’s commands? (15:1-20) 2. What were two heart problems pointed out by Jesus? How does knowing and obeying God’s commands overcome these two problems? What definite steps are you taking to overcome these two heart problems in your life? How are you helping others overcome these two problems of the heart? (15:1-20)
Let’s Review
(PowerPoint, page 7)
1. The synagogue in Nazareth – The people there asked, “Where did Jesus get his wisdom and miraculous powers?”
2. Herod’s court – Herod declared his theory, “This is John raised from the dead!” In this account a banqueting hall for Herod’s birthday party led to a dungeon of death for John the Baptist.
3. A desert place where Jesus fed more than 5000 – In response to the need, Jesus looked up to heaven, gave thanks and broke the bread for the 5000.
4. Prayer - A means of communicating with heaven. Several facets of prayer are illustrated.
5. God’s commands – Another means of communicating with heaven. Jesus exhorted everyone to pay attention to what God had said.
Through the stories he has chosen Matthew has described what it is like to look up to heaven for blessing and help, and has emphasized the two means by which we can communicate with heaven.
In Colossians 3:1 and 2 the apostle Paul teaches us to pay attention to heaven, to what is above, because that is where Jesus is, our source of salvation and blessing and help.
1 Therefore, if you have been raised with Christ, keep focusing on the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Keep your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on the earth. (ISV)
This is parallel to what Matthew is illustrating in these five stories. In another book, I hope to go on to the next set of five stories in Matthew chapter 16 and talk about how the question, The disciples asked him, Where in the wilderness are we to get enough bread to feed such a crowd (15:33 ISV)? was answered. Jesus was the answer to that problem just as he is the answer to our needs, for wisdom and power. The Lord through both Paul’s letter and Matthew’s gospel teaches us to learn to focus on heaven.
Keep looking up to heaven! Questions to aid in the study of Matthew 13:53-15:20 (Repeated)
1. What is the key question in these five stories? (13:53-58) 2. Who asked the question and why did they ask? What was their response to Jesus and what was his to them? (13:53-58) 3. Who else was keenly interested in where Jesus got his great wisdom and miraculous powers? What was on his conscience if he had one? (14:1-11) 4. What was his theory about Jesus’ powers and why could that theory not be true? (14:1-11) 5. How did Jesus involve his whole being in his ministry to the people? Name the parts of his body and how he used them to glorify God and serve the people. How are we using the parts of our body to glorify the Lord and help others? (14:12-21) 6. In which story do we find the answer to the question, “Where did Jesus get his wisdom and power?” What was that answer? Could there be any other answer? (14:12-21) 7. Describe the various aspects of prayer illustrated by the fourth story. (14:22-36) 8. Which of these aspects of prayer are strongest in your life? In the life of your local church? In the life of your mission? Which aspects of prayer could be strengthened? (14:22-36) 9. How does the fifth story emphasize the importance of God’s commands, or God’s Word? What was substituted in place of God’s commands? (15:1-20) 10. What were two heart problems pointed out by Jesus? How does knowing and obeying God’s commands overcome these two problems? What definite steps are you taking to overcome these two heart problems in your life? How are you helping others overcome these two problems of the heart? (15:1-20)
An Approach To Studying And Preparing Messages
1. Pray as you read and meditate, asking the Lord to enlighten your mind.
2. Read the whole book of the Bible you have chosen for study 4 times over. If you have read the book recently then read it fewer times.
3. Read the chapter or portion of the Bible book you are studying 2 times quickly.
4. Reread the Bible portion using the study questions given at the end of each chapter of this book, and repeated near the end of this book.
5. Read quickly through the chapter of this book 2 times.
6. Go over the outline at the beginning of this book.
7. If there is a corresponding PowerPoint® presentation read through it.
8. Begin to jot down thoughts, quotes, Bible references and stories that come to mind.
9. If a diagram would help people see the point, try to draw it.
10. Begin to accept or discard parts of the chapter in this book and add your own thoughts and stories.
11. Look for significant words that are repeated or words that build progressively a theme throughout the text.
12. Remember that even up to the last seconds before you begin to speak or give your lesson, thoughts will come to you. Some of my best stories came to me minutes before I rose to speak.
13. As you prepare remember to persevere even when you feel dry and uninspired. To see a harvest a farmer must plow, disk, drag and cultivate a field. Dragging the disk up and down the field can get long and boring but is all part of the preparation.
14. Keep asking the Lord to help you and give you wisdom. Ask him to help you think clearly about both the Scripture and your audience, and their needs.
15. Use the questions who? what? where? why? when? and how? to bring out the major themes in the portion.
16. Keep in mind the three steps of 1) observation, 2) interpretation and 3) application. 1) Observation is seeing what is actually written. 2) Interpretation for those of that time, as well as for us, is the meaning. 3) Application has to do with living and obeying the lessons learned.
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