Matthew 14:22-24

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22 Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. 23 And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there. 24 But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. ~ Matthew 14:22-24

Today, we continue our study of Matthew 14 where we have learned about the beheading of John the Baptist at the hands of Herod Agrippa. Herod really didn't want to murder John even though he had imprisoned him for calling him on the carpet for his adulterous relationship with his brother's wife. This chapter also includes the only miracle recorded in all four gospel accounts, the feeding of the 5000 plus with just 5 loaves and two fish. The Lord Jesus fed all those people because a small boy was willing to part with his small meal. We cannot begin to understand today's passage until we see, like John the Baptist and the boy with the five loaves and two fish that our God-given trials are designed to help us to be defined by the idea of more of Him and less of me.

In v.22 of today's passage we read, "Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away."

The Lord Jesus made His disciples get into the boat without Him. Sometimes, in our walk with the Lord, He makes us do things that we would just rather not do. But, once we get through the unwanted moments of life, there is always a huge blessing waiting just on the other side of the unwanted. When the Lord made His disciples get into the boat, they were on the northeastern shore of the Sea of Galilee. In order to row to Capernaum, they had to parallel the shore all the way back. As they rowed across the northern tip of the lake, they stayed close to the shore for they expected the Lord Jesus to meet them somewhere along the way.

In v.23 of today's passage we read, "And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there."

It is through the Lord Jesus that we have been justified before God, but we are also being continually saved from this world's faulty way of thinking. This is why the Lord Jesus prays for us even now. This is called sanctification in the Bible. Our sanctification is brought about by our decisions to draw nearer to God as we choose to be defined by Him. We know that we are being defined by Him when we obey Him. People who draw near to God become like Him as He expresses Himself to us and through us. We resemble what we worship.

In Hebrews 7:25 we read, "Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them." 

Essential to any ministry is prayer. Essential to anything worth while is talking to God about it first. After the Lord sent the huge crowd back to their homes, He went up into the hills to pray. Prayer provides the fuel to our walk with the Lord. Almost nothing decays so fast in the fallen human heart as the desire to talk with God. Therefore, we must make it our habit to talk with the Father about all things. Nothing is more vital to our sanctification than prayer, and few things are more vulnerable to neglect.

According to Mark's and Luke's gospels, the disciples of the Lord Jesus had been successful in ministry previous to this chapter. And, right on the heels of that success, they discovered they could not feed the 5000 men, woman and children on the side of that hill next to the Sea of Galilee. It was in that moment they were at their best, but, they felt differently. They felt like losers. We are at our best when we are most convinced that we need God. We are at our best when we are most dependent upon the Lord. This is why having conversations with God is so very important and vital.

In v.24 of today's passage we read, "But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary."

The Sea of Galilee is 680 feet below sea level while the Dead Sea is 1,290 feet below sea level. Since the entire water chain along the Jordan River is below sea level, it is a magnet for storms. The afternoon breezes blow in off the Mediterranean Sea funneling through the canyons. Since some of the surrounding mountains are 2,000 feet in height, the winds blow in quickly and quite suddenly. When the warm air off the Sea of Galilee mixes with the cool air from the canyons, a funnel of air with great velocity often is created and severe storms are formed on the Sea of Galilee. To this day, the winds are so intense that they have been known to easily capsized massive boats.

It was around 3:00 in the morning and it was so dark the rowing disciples could not see the shore. To make matters worse, a strong wind began blowing. To this day, in that area, the wind blows suddenly out of the north, from the mountains, down the valley and across the lake toward the south. It was then that the wind drove the disciple's boat southward and they lost sight of the shore and all possibility of picking up the Lord Jesus was lost. Before not too much longer the disciples found themselves right in the middle of the lake, far south of their intended target. Frustration for these fishermen who had navigated these waters so many times before was at an all time high.

Trials in our lives, no matter their form, always give us fits but with those fits we are granted the opportunity to be taught by the Lord Jesus in the most unique of ways. His goal through it all is to grant to us a deeper intimacy with Himself. The most important lesson that we will ever be granted is that it is only the Lord Jesus who can grant us peace in the midst of our storms. 

The Lord Jesus deliberately caused or allowed this trial in order to bring about the miracle in the lives of these disciples. He had sent them off into the dark night and He deliberately delayed His coming so that they might learn what He could do during such a moment of trouble. The beauty of it all is that it is through these dark intense moments that we learn to see Him better, that we learn to look for Him with our hearts. It is moments like this that we are most likely to look for more intensely for Him. And, when we see Him, we will invite Him further into our existence and thus enjoy greater intimacy with our God.

Matthew 14:17-21

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17 And they said to Him, "We have here only five loaves and two fish." 18 He said, "Bring them here to Me." 19 Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes. 20 So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained. 21 Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children. ~ Matthew 14:17-21

Today, we return to our study of Matthew 14 where the Lord Jesus has been pursued all day by people who were looking for that one thing that fulfills. They were so locked in on this quest that they even forgot to eat. Previously, since night was upon them, the disciples had suggested that the crowds be sent back to the villages for their physical needs to be met. Even the disciples were quite myopic that day. The people were so hungry for truth that they ran eight miles around the northern end of the lake to listen to the Lord Jesus. In fact, they ran so fast that they arrived at the other side before He and His disciples got there, even though they had taken a boat. 

So often we discover that our appetites dictate the direction of our lives. It just depends upon what we crave in a given moment. Most often we value our temporal needs more than our spiritual. We often miss our hunger and our thirst for the Lord because they most often come in the unwanted moments of life. Those moments when our feelings of emptiness and loneliness abound. The type of stuff that we most often run from. When we learn to value the unwanted annoyances of life, it is then that we will pursue Him. The problem comes when we frantically start looking to the wrong things of this world to try to fill up our emptiness. It is always on the heels of this that we discover there is nothing in this world that truly fulfills.

In v.17-18 of today's passage we read, "17 And they said to Him, 'We have here only five loaves and two fish.' 18 He said, 'Bring them here to Me.'"

According to John's gospel, as the crowd approached, the Lord Jesus said to Philip, the quiet disciple, "Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?" Philip immediately turned his mind to what he trusted most, money. As he estimated the resources available, he made known to the Lord they could not feed all of the people who were there. Some estimate there were at least 15,000 people there that day including the women and the children. 

It was at that moment that Andrew identified a small boy who had five small barley loaves and two small fish. Andrew is always seen bringing people to the Lord. The provision was small but small is all the Lord Jesus needed to do the unimaginable. So, the Lord had the small boys small meal brought to Him. This is so typical for God throughout history. The Bible is full of these types of examples: There’s teenage David, who took on the giant Goliath with nothing more than a slingshot in his hand and the name of the Lord on his lips. Moses, a simple shepherd, challenged the most powerful man on earth and led a nation through the Red Sea to the Promised Land. In the New Testament, we have young, unwed Mary, who gracefully submitted to an unwanted pregnancy and the subsequent humiliation that came with it. All of the disciples of the Lord Jesus were unschooled and ordinary people, a motley crew through whom the Lord Jesus has reached billions.

In v.19 of today's passage we read, "Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes."

Throughout the three year ministry of the Lord Jesus, He performed many miracles. The miracle recorded in today's passage is the only miracle recorded in all four gospel accounts. And, the feeding of the 5000 was His most massive miracle. This was the most visible miracle because He kept multiplying the five loaves and two fish and He handed it from hand to hand for all to see. In this case seeing was believing. After this miracle, the Lord Jesus taught the crowds occasionally but most of His focus was on teaching His twelve disciples.

In v.20-21 of today's passage we read, "20 So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained. 21 Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children." 

All of the miracles of the Lord Jesus were demonstrations of His compassion for human suffering. They reveal the broken heart of God over the pain of mankind proving that God is compassionate. He fed the 5,000 because they were hungry. But, this miracle was primarily for the disciples. Often the Lord allows us to be on the brink of total embarrassment and at that moment He does something miraculous. He had long before this called the Old Testament prophet Hosea to purchase his adulterous wife for thirty pieces of silver but Hosea only had half of what he needed. Then the Lord made Himself very tangible to Hosea as He provided the remaining amount, allowing Hosea to buy his wife from prostitution. Oh, the humiliation. 

Well, the day the Lord Jesus fed the 5000 He made it obvious that He was the only explanation for the meeting of our needs. After the feeding of the multitude, there were twelve full baskets of leftovers, one for each disciple. Within each basket there was more food than they had when they started. Close to their hearts each disciple had proof of the miracle, reminding each that they didn't need to rely on anything other than the Lord Jesus. 

In a world of cause and effect, God wants us to build our lives on Him and His perfection. He wants us to experience Him and His unconditional care and compassion for ourselves because until that happens we surely will not be in the place to extend care and compassion to others. It was God’s compassion for you and me that drove Him to send the Lord Jesus to His death. It was His compassion for you and me that led Him to search us out when sin had condemned us to an eternity away from Him. And, it’s God’s compassion that drives Him even now to pour out His unfathomable love and affection over you and me. Often He takes us to the lean place before He provides for us His abundance. He knows that we will never be convince that He is all we need until we know that He is truly all we have.

Matthew 14:12-16

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12 Then his disciples came and took away the body and buried it, and went and told Jesus. 13 When Jesus heard it, He departed from there by boat to a deserted place by Himself. But when the multitudes heard it, they followed Him on foot from the cities. 14 And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick. 15 When it was evening, His disciples came to Him, saying, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food.” 16 But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” ~ Matthew 14:12-16

Today,  we return to our study of Matthew 14 where John the Baptist has been beheaded by Herod Antipas at the behest of his adulterous wife, Herodias. This was a sad ending to John's life, but this is how the world treats those who speak the truth which condemns them. John had rebuked Herod Antipas for his divorce and incestuous relationship with his sister-in-law, and he paid the steepest price. People love their sin so much that they are willing to kill others in order to live in the sin which is destroying them.  

In v.12-13 of today's passage we read, "12 Then his disciples came and took away the body and buried it, and went and told Jesus. 13 When Jesus heard it, He departed from there by boat to a deserted place by Himself. But when the multitudes heard it, they followed Him on foot from the cities."

John the Baptist's followers buried John in a grave because they knew a grave is a statement of faith in the resurrection. The idea of placing a body in the ground illustrates the victory Christ has gained over sin and death on our behalf. We would not have a hope of our resurrection without death. Death provides for us the picture of the seed. When the seed is put in the ground, it becomes an illustration of our faith that we will be resurrected one day from the dead. The resurrection of the Lord Jesus is the cornerstone of the Christian faith and it is the best attested fact in human history. It was predicted in the Old Testament over and over, and, by Christ Himself. During the forty days following His resurrection, the Lord Jesus showed Himself to be alive at various times and places to many people who told others what they had seen. Thomas not only saw Jesus' nail prints, he felt them. Then he concluded that the Lord Jesus was God. In fact, according to 1 Corinthians 15 the Lord Jesus appeared to more than 500 people at one time after His resurrection. If He had not raising from the dead it would have been easy to prove it as fake news. 

In v.14 of today's passage we read, "And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick."

The Lord Jesus often sought solitude so He could converse with His Father in heaven. It was after his cousin's death that the Lord Jesus spent much time praying. It was from that posture that He recognized the needs of the great multitude of people that had gathered around Him. When He saw the people, it was a lot more than just seeing them with His eyes, it was a perception that enabled Him to see their needs. This is where pain and prayer leads us, to have eyes to see the real needs of others. As a result, the Lord Jesus was "moved with compassion" for the people.  Compassion is a deep awareness of the sufferings of others producing a deep emotional response that moves us to act on the behalf of them. The compassion of the Lord Jesus was not just a passive feeling; it was an active force that drove Him to serve others selflessly. This deep seated compassion was what fueled the ministry of the Lord Jesus, and it is what fuels ours. Most often it is our own personal pain that propels us to act compassionately on the behalf of others. The key is that we learn to embrace the Lord first through our pain.

In v.15-16 of today's passage we read, "15 When it was evening, His disciples came to Him, saying, 'This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food.' 16 But Jesus said to them, 'They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.'"

The word "deserted" is strategically mentioned twice in this passage. "Deserted" means there was nothing or no one there. It was a place of abandonment and emptiness and loneliness. It is through our lack that the Lord Jesus reveals His abundance. Through our pain and emptiness God reveals to us that He is the answer to all of our problems and the problems of those to whom we minister. It is through our pain that we gain God's heart not only for ourselves but also for others. God's power always shows up best in our weaknesses and when we have deserted the self life we are positioned to begin to know His expressed in and to and through ours.

The disciples thought the answer for the people's hunger was found in the villages. The crowds were an inconvenience to the disciples. They thought the answer was to send them away but it is never a good idea to send people away from the Lord Jesus. All we need is in Him but we are often found scurrying in all directions for satisfaction, but He is the Bread of Life. Coming to the Bread of Life means we have come to recognize He is essential for our existence. The Lord Jesus Christ is "the life" because He is the only source of everlasting life.

The Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 1:21, "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." Transliterated literally, it looks like this: "to live Christ, to die gain." This is not a slogan, it is a daily experience for the believer who has come to the end of himself. It is a call to share every moment, whether in joy or in pain, as an opportunity to invite Christ to live His life in us, to us, and through us. It is a life shaped by Him and His grace, marked by purpose, and filled with hope. As believers in the Lord Jesus we will have difficulties, but He brings His love and His joy and His peace to meet these difficulties. True life is found in experiencing Christ for ourselves and allowing Him to express Himself to us and through us.

Matthew 14:3-11

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3 For Herod had laid hold of John and bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. 4 Because John had said to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5 And although he wanted to put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet. 6 But when Herod’s birthday was celebrated, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod. 7 Therefore he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask. 8 So she, having been prompted by her mother, said, “Give me John the Baptist’s head here on a platter.” 9 And the king was sorry; nevertheless, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he commanded it to be given to her. 10 So he sent and had John beheaded in prison. 11 And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. ~ Matthew 14:3-11

Today, we return to our study of Matthew which is commonly understood to be the Gospel of the King. It was written primarily to the Jewish people and its emphasis is on the Lord Jesus as the long-awaited King of the Jews. In today's study our attention has been turned to Herod Antipas who was a son of Herod the Great. It was his desire to be called the king of the Jews, even though he was not a Jew. He ruled over the Jewish provinces of Galilee and Parea from 4 BC until 39 AD. Herod Antipas divorced his first wife so that he could marry his brother Philip's wife, Herodias. When John the Baptist learned of this, he rebuked Herod Antipas because he was guilty of adultery with Herodias. Compounding this was the fact that Herod Antipas was guilty of many evil murders that he had carried out due to his fear of losing his kingdom. 

In v.3-5 of today's passage we read, "3 For Herod had laid hold of John and bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. 4 Because John had said to him, 'It is not lawful for you to have her.' 5 And although he wanted to put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet."

Herod Antipas saw John the Baptist as a righteous man of God. But, John was known to confront the sin of others rather quickly. John the Baptist was not too shy to call anyone out for their sin, even if it was the most powerful man in the region. In response, Herod Antipas wanted to kill John, just as his father had desired to kill the Lord Jesus when He was born in Bethlehem. It was then that Herod had John put in prison for approximately a year. It was while John was imprisoned that he sent his disciples to question the identity of the Lord Jesus. In the words of the Lord Jesus "John was greatest man to ever live." Yet, John struggled with doubt which is the shadow cast by faith. 

I am learning that faith is not so much as an intellectual assent to a series of concepts as it is a personal relationship with the living God. Feelings deeply affect every relationship we have, including our relationship with God. The questions created by our doubts fuel our faith's pursuit of God. And, when we stumble upon God, we are a little more convinced of His involvement in our lives as before. Every day, to a certain degree this scenario takes place in our walk with the Lord. And, the more we wrestle with our doubts the more our faith in the God of the Bible has the ability to grow. The result is that we are experiencing the definition of God for our very lives.

Like most, Herod Antipas was defined most by his fears. He lived in fear of his wife. He lived in fear of losing his throne and he lived in fear of the people around him. It was his fear of John the Baptist that prompted him to put him in prison. But, after John's imprisonment, Herod became fascinated with him. At that point Herod's wife, Herodias, a woman of immorality, infidelity, and vice took up the charge against John. Herodias was most vindictive. She nursed her anger toward John the Baptist to a boiling point, resulting in her desire to have him murdered. Due to the seething nature of her anger toward John, Herodias became a parent so incensed that she involved her sixteen year old daughter in on the evil conspiracy.

In v.6-8 of today's passage we read, "6 But when Herod’s birthday was celebrated, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod. 7 Therefore he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask. 8 So she, having been prompted by her mother, said, 'Give me John the Baptist’s head here on a platter.'"

In those days, the Romans held massive birthday parties where only men were invited. The parties included immoral, lewd, and seductive female dancers. Due to the intense drunkenness, the parties would grind to a massive orgy. At Herod's birthday party, the sixteen year old daughter of Herodias, Salome, danced before Herod and his many friends and she pleased Herod. Herodias had all of this planned in advance. Her goal was the death of John the Baptist, and she knew that by the time they got to the end of Herod's party, Herod would be so drunk that he would agree to put John to death. Herodias was so set on revenge that she subjected her daughter as a sex object before Herod and his many male friends. Herod was so manipulated by his seething wife that he gave up to half of his whole kingdom to the sixteen year old daughter of his adulterous wife. Even though Herod had come to the place that he did not want to kill John, he granted Herodias her wish for the head of John the Baptist. Herod coalesced out of fear of losing his reputation and respect with the most famous men who were at his birthday party.

In v.9-11 of today's passage we read, "9 And the king was sorry; nevertheless, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he commanded it to be given to her. 10 So he sent and had John beheaded in prison. 11 And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother."

Herod was sorry for beheading John the Baptist but his pride wouldn’t let him do what was right. He was out maneuvered by his shrewd wife and the man that he once feared and respected was no longer. Sadly, Herod's sorrow was not met with repentance. Although Herod Antipas failed this test, he was later given another chance to embrace repentance when Pilate sent the Lord Jesus to him just before His crucifixion. Herod is the only figure in the Gospels to whom the Lord Jesus replied not a word when addressed. In His silence, the Lord Jesus gave Herod the opportunity to see deeper and therefore feel deeper and to therefore choose deeper. Herod chose the same old shallowness of the self life and sent the Lord Jesus away from him.

In contrast to Herod Antipas and his wife Herodias, John the Baptist live by the motto,"He must increase, I must decrease." This motto reveals a different orientation on life than that of the normal default mode of the average human which is self-centeredness. John the Baptist had a God-centered life, prioritizing God's will and His presence in his thoughts and choices and in his actions. John fully understood the concept of death to the self life which enabled him to surrender his desires and ambitions to God, allowing Him to have His way in his life. John taught us that once we have been awakened to God’s love and we embrace our identity as the beloved of the King, it changes us at our very core. It ripples out into every aspect of our lives, including how we see God, ourselves and others. 

Many think God is not all that involved in our lives on a day by day basis. We often believe we have made it through life on our own. We think we have earned our way to power by our efforts, by our intelligence, or by our hard work. Unlike the man who loves the darkness and hates the light, the man who does the truth bears the birthmark of the born-again which is that he loves for it to be clearly seen that his heart is with God. The first thing John the Baptist said about the Lord Jesus was: "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." Long before anyone else saw the Lord Jesus as the Lamb, John saw it. Such insight is reserved for those who aren't playing games with God and His truth. John understood that we love God because He first loved us. The Lord Jesus said, "This is love that one would lay down his life for his friends." I know of no greater love than that and the more I understand of it, the more it grips me and pushes me to know Him more and to be defined by Him solely.

Matthew 14:1-2

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1 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the report about Jesus 2 and said to his servants, "This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him." ~ Matthew 14:1-2

Today, we transition into Matthew 14 where the scene has shifted. With the previous chapter ending with the fact that the Lord Jesus did not do many miracles in Nazareth due to the people's lack of faith, it makes sense that Matthew would transition by placing the spotlight squarely on Herod the Tetrarch. Like the other Herod's, Herod Antipas had a skewed understanding of the Lord Jesus. Herod Antipas the Tetrarch was from Tiberas, a place the Lord Jesus never visited. No miracles were performed there by the Lord Jesus. No wonder Herod had no clue to His identity. All of this merely underscores the idea that God always responds to faith. He is omnipotent yet we by unbelief can limit the experience of God's power in our lives.

Herod Antipas was the ruler of Galilee and Perea, the area partly in Jordan. When his dad, Herod the Great died, the country was divided in four parts between his three sons. Herod the Great himself was an Edomite and his fourth wife was a Samaritan. This is why Herod Antipas was hated by the Jews. In addition, all of the Herod's were murderers. Herod Antipas on one occasion killed most all of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling body because they disagreed with him. They challenged him on one of his rulings so he just killed them all.

In v.1 of today's passage we read, "At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the report about Jesus."

Herod Antipas was a "tetrarch" which means "a ruler of a fourth." Herod Antipas wanted to be recognized as king, but Caesar Augustus, the Roman ruler, refused him the title. Herod’s father, Herod the Great, was the king who was ruling when the Lord Jesus was born in Bethlehem. When Herod the Great died, the Roman emperor divided his kingdom into four parts. One part was given to Herod Antipas.  

In v.2 of today's passage we read, "And (Herod) said to his servants, 'This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him.'"

Herod Antipas actually thought the Lord Jesus was John the Baptist raised from the dead. But the Scriptures tell us that John the Baptist did no miracles! Since Herod was a Sadducee, he did not believe in miracles. Herod had really bad theology because he was not defined by the God of the Bible. We know that we are being defined by God when we are in His Word regularly and we obey what we read. This means that we are not only in the habit of reading God's Word, it also means that we are being read by it. And, when we are read by the Word, we will be defined by the God who gave us His Word. And, as we give way to His will to be done in and through our lives, we will be defined by Him. This is not what saves us, but, it may be used of God to save others.

Herod ruled from 4 A.D. to 39 A.D. and he demanded he be called "king." He desired to be the King of the Jews. He was run off to what is now known as France by the Roman emperor for demanding to be made a king in 39 A.D. This is why Mark referred to Herod as king in Mark 6, but, Herod fell woefully short of being a king. Herod, an insecure ruler, was always on the alert for any threats to his rule. This underscores mankind's deepest problem: insecurity. Granted, sin is our deepest problem, but sin's lack will always lead us to be insecure and to make insecure and immature decisions.

It is the holiness of the Lord Jesus that addresses this problem that we all shares. The Greek word for "holy" means "complete" or "whole." Holiness means wholeness, lacking nothing. God desires for us that we live a life of wholeness. The Lord Jesus came to this sin-filled world in order to make broken people whole. His calling on us is the application of His life to ours. So, the whole life is His life applied to ours.

Again, Herod Antipas had a faulty understanding of the Lord Jesus. A correct meaning of things comes from our knowledge of the Lord's definitions of things. This is why it is so important for us to be in the Word of God, the written and the living Word of God. It is not about obedience so much as it is about being defined by the God of the Bible. When we have His culture growing in us, we will see things most accurately. Most lack a proper understanding of the nature of things, and, are therefore, deceived due to the fact that they are not being defined by God. 

We were created by God who knew each one of us even before we were in our mother’s womb. Our true identity corresponds with how He created and defined us to be. When sin entered into the picture, we were thwarted from living out of a God-given identity. To live the abundant life the Lord Jesus died to give us, we must be defined by God who longs to re-write our narrative. This only happens as we allow Him to do so. 

We do well to read God's Word asking Him to define us by His way of thinking. True strength is discovered in submission which permits us to dedicate ourselves, through devotion, to God Himself. This will not mean we will become sinless. It does mean God will begin healing the holes in our souls that cause us to seek validation from the wrong sources. God is really good at using the truth to patch the holes that lies had once created in our souls. When we allow Him to define us, we will grow in the confidence that is not circumstantial and not of us. We will grow in the wholeness that ushers us to Him who unfailingly gives meaning and purpose to the willing soul. He faithfully does this even when life isn't going the way we want. I am learning that when I lose those on this earth that I value the most, I begin to value my heavenly Father’s embrace more. And, with His embrace always comes His definition for my life.

Mathew 13:53-58

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53 Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these parables, that He departed from there. 54 When He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, "Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works? 55 Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? 56 And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things?" 57 So they were offended at Him. But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house." 58 Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief. ~ Matthew 13:53-58

Today, we conclude our study of Matthew 13 where the Lord Jesus has been teaching His disciples in the house of Peter who lived in Capernaum. In today's study the identity of the Lord Jesus is being questioned. "Who am I?" is one of the three major questions that we all wrestle with while on this earth. Along with "Where did I come from?" and "Why am I here?," "Who am I?" is key to how we understand and live our lives. 

In v.53 of today's passage we read, "Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these parables, that He departed from there."

The words, "Now it came to pass" remind us that the Lord Jesus operated on His Father's timeline and schedule. He was truly defined by the Father. In John 8 the Lord Jesus said, "I do nothing on my own initiative, but the things that I hear from him, these are the things that I speak." He then went on to instruct His hearers about real freedom. In our culture freedom means doing what we want, when we want, how we want, with whom we want. That’s freedom but not according to God. Freedom from God is a freedom by which we are empowered to live life according to His will. His will frees us to obey, to live life in submission to His will. He is the One who made us and knows what is best for us. There is no greater freedom than our bondage to obedience to God. He is the One who drew up the specifications for our lives.

Most get their meaning from those whom they respect, but the thoughts of fallen man are limited. Only God can provide for us the identity that we truly want. As believers in the Lord Jesus we are called of God to find our identity in Him. Due to becoming sons and daughters of God by believing in His Son, God sees us through the lens of the Lord Jesus Christ. In His eyes we are perfect as He. Most struggle with insecurities because they are not happy with certain things about themselves. We must not be defined by nothing other than the Lord Jesus Christ. Only the perfection of Christ applied to us through the cross can make us secure and satisfied with whom we are and the lives God has given us.

In v.54-56 of today's passage we read, "54 When He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, 'Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works? 55 Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? 56 And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things?'"

The Lord Jesus traveled some 56 miles from Capernaum to Nazareth and while there, He spoke in the synagogue. This was His second visit to Nazareth. He had been there about a year earlier, at which time they had tried to throw Him off a cliff. They were so upset that He claimed to be the Messiah, instead of accepting Him as the gift of God, their rage took over. His wisdom they couldn’t deny. His miracles they couldn’t deny. They had benefited from both. He promised them that He was the Messiah. He showed them that He was the fulfillment of Isaiah 61. And instead of embracing Him as their Messiah, they sought to kill Him. 

On this occasion when the people in the synagogue heard the Lord Jesus, they were "blown away" by His teaching. But they asked the wrong question. Well, they asked the right question but they defined the Lord Jesus in the wrong way. They defined Him as "a man." Throughout the centuries, people have found the Lord Jesus to be absolutely fascinating. It’s no exaggeration to say that He is the most influential person who has ever lived.  Today, more than two thousand years after His death, He has a worldwide following of millions. He is the primary figure in the number one best-selling book in the world, fall time, the Bible. Even our calendar is based around His birth. It’s undeniable that the Lord Jesus is the most influential person in history. 

In v.57-58 of today's passage we read, "57 So they were offended at Him. But Jesus said to them, 'A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house.' 58 Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief."

The Lord Jesus offended the people by speaking the truth. Unbelief is not that we can't believe, unbelief is that we won't believe. The Lord Jesus gave much evidence of His identity to the people through His wise teaching, through His miracles, through the fact that He fulfilled at least 300 Old Testament prophecies as the Messiah. The fact that He rose from the dead after being murdered on the cross was so compelling that His unbelieving half brothers and sisters became His followers. The Lord Jesus gave every evidence to prove He was the Messiah, but the people of Nazareth just plain rejected it. They refused to believe. The evidence was as clear as daylight! In John 12:37 we read, "Though He had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in Him." Unbelief is a persistent refusal to believe. The Lord Jesus said in Luke 16:31, "If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, if they do not hear the Word of God, neither will they be convinced even if this great miracle takes place, someone rises from the dead." 

The people of Nazareth didn't believe that the Lord Jesus was the Messiah. The result was that He didn't do many miracles there, "because of their unbelief." In John 3:19 we read, "And this is the judgment that light has come into the world and people love the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil." We do not want to admit it when we are wrong. This is why it was so hard for us to turn to the Lord in the first place. Pride inaugurated sin. There was a time when we held tightly to our sin because it felt so good and we thought that it was so right. For most people it requires a certain measure of brokenness to convince us to turn to the Lord. People reject the Lord Jesus Christ because they love the darkness rather than the light. They are more comfortable with sin than they are with the Perfect One who fashioned them in their mother's womb.

Matthew 13:51-52

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51 Jesus said to them, "Have you understood all these things?" They said to Him, "Yes, Lord." 52 Then He said to them, "Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old." ~ Matthew 13:51-52

Today, we continue our study of Matthew 13 where the Lord Jesus is now in the house of Peter who lived in Capernaum. At this point the Lord Jesus was instructing His disciples only. He had sent the masses away. Having utilized seven parables to define the kingdom of heaven, the Lord Jesus asked His disciples a poignant question. Questions always propel us in our walk with the Lord. Often, we discover there are questions that we seem to never get answers, that is until we are ready. The Lord Jesus knew that His followers were about to go through the most soul wrenching of experiences. He knew that these types of moments are the moments that deepen us with Him the most. With these types of moments we are granted the deepest questions which will lead us most deeply into a deeper personal relationship with Him.

In v.51 of today's passage we read, "Jesus said to them, 'Have you understood all these things?' They said to Him, 'Yes, Lord.'"

Given the Lord Jesus taught in parables, when He asked His disciples if they had understood all these things, He had in mind all the things He has been teaching them about the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven that day. Even though the disciples responded to His question affirmatively, they did not fully understand everything He had taught them that day. This side of heaven there are and will be many things that we just do not have the capacity to understand. This is why our faith and our trust in Him are so very important. When we run to Him through the most unwanted of moments, we will find ourselves getting somewhere with Him.

The concept of mystery plays a major role in the development of our faith and our walk with the Lord. Pursuing God is not a clean pursuit, nor is it easy. There are often surprises en route of our discovery of Him and His ways. Mystery fosters in us humility, wonder, and a greater commitment to our pursuit of the Lord. This pursuit is referred to as "faith" throughout the Bible. According to Hebrews 11:6 this faith or our pursuit of God is the only thing that humanly pleases God. While God reveals certain truths to us, much of what can be known about God remains to be a mystery to us, prompting us to approach Him with reverence and an awe rather than a desire to fully comprehend Him and His ways. In my pursuit of Him, I have come to understand that knowing Him personally is far more rewarding than understanding Him. The nice part to it all is the first always leads to the second.

In Proverbs 25:2 we read, "It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter." 

A mystery cannot be tracked down and trapped like an animal. It can’t be discovered by persistent searching. It must be revealed. We don’t unlock mysteries; they are unlocked for us. And they are only unlocked and revealed to those who hunger and thirst for them. The Lord Jesus had earlier said in Matthew 13:11-17 that He concealed truth in parables so it remained a mystery to some, but not for others. Mystery must always be a continual part of our relationship with God. We should always have more questions than answers. If our encounters with God don’t leave us with more questions than when we started, then we have had an inferior encounter with Him. He is the God of wonder and awe and tenderness of heart which ushers us into the realm of the unlocked moments with Him. But, we must understand that it is the mysteries of God that fuel our pursuit of Him. 

In v.52 of today's passage we read, "Then He said to them, 'Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old.'"

The Lord likened His disciples to scribes. That is a startling description since the scribes of the Lord's day were His enemies. The scribes of His day were the ones who came to the Lord Jesus with questions designed to trick him. They were the ones who constantly tried to turn the people against Him. But, they had not always been that way. The scribes in the Old Testament became prominent in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. Ezra was the first of the scribes. He was a leader among the remnant of the Jews who returned to Jerusalem from Babylon after their Captivity. The first arrivals had found the city of Jerusalem in utter ruins and the temple completely destroyed. The Jews were authorized to rebuild the temple and the city, and, especially, to restore the worship of God in the temple. In order to be able to do so, the spirit of the people first had to be built up. And to do that Ezra took the Law of Moses and began to teach it to the people. In Nehemiah 8 we read of a pulpit of wood that was built for Ezra. This is the first time a pulpit appears in Scripture. Standing upon it Ezra began to speak to the discouraged people from the Scriptures. That was the beginning of the ministry of the scribes. At first it was a very helpful ministry. But, fallen men soon made it a position that served their selfishness and they no longer represented God as they should have.

When the Lord Jesus referred to His disciples as scribes He was communicating with them the utter importance of them daily walking with Him and learning from Him. As He shared His secrets with them, they were expected to treasure them and to share their insights with others. This was the purpose of the scribe from the beginning. The scribe was to understand that he was to be trained in the secrets of the kingdom of heaven.

The Scriptures always stress the necessity of knowing God far more than merely believing a set of doctrines or creeds. Anything short of that is a distorted picture of our calling. The life the Lord has called us to is transformational and it is not accomplished over night. In fact, the part that we play in it all is to be vulnerable to Him. It begins with our belief and our trust in Him and, over time, our souls will be transformed to the point of pointing others to Him. It is out of an intimate relationship with Him that we are given these truths about Him and His culture. 

We must always remember that our lives will always be filled with much confusion and frustration. Many times we will not have the ability to distinguish between what is true from what is false. Our walk with Him will always be a continual process of our understanding of Him being changed and with that change comes trust and with that trust comes intimacy. When the disciples told the Lord that they understood they meant that they had an intellectual apprehension of the words that He had used. But, soon they learned that a personal relationship with the Lord of glory renders much more than an understanding of the truths of the faith.

In response to the disciples declaration that they understood His teaching that day, the Lord Jesus told them that they were "householders who bring out of his treasure things new and old." A householder was responsible to provide for those in the house and usually had a room where he would keep everything that was needed and distributed as it was required. So the truths of the kingdom of heaven are to be brought out new and old, good and bad, truth about heaven, truth about hell, all of it so the people can wrestle with it and understand it. The new things are always fresh and exciting while the old things are enduring. The new are the fuel for the day while the old the fuel for a lifetime.

Matthew 13:47-50

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47 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, 48 which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away. 49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, 50 and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. ~ Matthew 13:47-50

Today, we return to our study of Matthew 13 where the Lord Jesus used seven parables in order to show the nature and the power of the kingdom of heaven. There are 35 parables that are recorded in the Synoptic Gospels. In the early part of the ministry of the Lord Jesus, He did not use parables in His teaching. Toward the end of His three year ministry He spoke in parables because there was quite the divide among those who listened to and learned from the Lord Jesus' teaching and those who didn't. Some were really not interested in what He taught while others hung on His every word. So, He spoke in parables which required ardent thinking in order to understand. 

In v.47-48 of today's passage we read, "47 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, 48 which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away."

This parable is a story about a fishing trip. The men on this trip took a huge net, the kind you would spread out to trawl between two boats. Fishing in biblical days was common. It was a way of life. For some of the disciples fishing was their way of making a living, so they understood very clearly this parable. The dragnet garnered all sorts of fish indiscriminately. Eventually the time came to pull the big net out onto the shore, and that’s when they sat down to sort out their catch. They collected the fish worth keeping, and the worthless ones they threw away. 

The point the Lord Jesus was making that day was: God’s kingdom is likened to a dragnet. Within it, we find all sorts of people, good and bad, in close proximity. While the fish could not sort themselves out people can believe in God's salvation or not. When the time comes to pull in the net, it will be obvious who were the believers and who were not. It will not be that God will not know in advance of this result. He will, but He’s waiting for the right time to bring things on this earth to its end. He won’t sort it out until the end of the fishing expedition has come. 

There is coming a day when the time for placing one's faith in the Son of God will be over. At that time God's angels will separate the believers from the unbelievers. The separation will be sudden and ultimate. From our point of view right now, little by little the net moves through the seas of time drawing all men to the shores of eternity for that inevitable event. Meanwhile, those who do not believe in the Lord Jesus are those who are being defined by the devil himself. They just do not know it due to their fallen nature and the devil's great powers of deception. And sadly, by the time the people will awaken to what has been happening, it will be too late.  

In v.49-50 of today's passage we read, "49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, 50 and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth."

God's angels will separate the bad fish from the good ones. The bad ones who lack trust in the Lord Jesus will suffer separation from God and all that is good and right for eternity. At the end of time, the good fish will remain with God in the context of everything substantive, good and right. But for now, the good fish and the bad fish must live together in God’s net until the time to separate them. This is the same truth taught in the parable of the wheat and the tares. At the end of time, the Son of Man will send His angels and they will gather all the bad fish and they will be cast into hell which is illustrated here by a furnace of fire where there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.  

The Lord Jesus warned us about hell many times. In fact, He spoke of hell more than anyone else in the Bible. Many times He warned the people not to take lightly their sins because there would come a day when they would be judged for them. In John 3:17-18 the Lord Jesus said, "17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." 

The Lord Jesus came to throw the drowning a life vest. And, for those who resist the life vest, they will sadly drown in their sin. The Lord Jesus came to bear the weight of the wages of our sin on the cross. Something we could not do for ourselves. God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked. God is not willing that any should spend an eternity in hell. His heart of compassion warns about sins eternal consequences because He loves all men, even those who mock Him. If the Lord Jesus hadn’t taught us about hell, we would be ignorantly unaware. But, we are not. People do not believe in hell because they do not understand the intense nature of sin. In hell, there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth for eternity. The Lord Jesus spoke much about hell because man could not of himself have conceived of eternal damnation. More than anything else, the Lord Jesus intensely warned us about hell which was a compassionate thing to do. God never prepared hell for people. He prepared it for the devil and his angels. But people choose to go there. It is a place of inconceivable misery. 

The Lord Jesus didn’t talk about hell just to scare us. He talked about it because He wants us to know that God has provided a way of escape out of it! God doesn’t want us to be separated from Him forever. He loves us, and He wants us to spend eternity with Him in heaven. Unlike hell, heaven is a place of joy and peace and freedom from all the fears and pains of this world. If you haven't yet, by faith turn to the Lord Jesus Christ and admit to Him that you need Him to be your Savior and that you believe that His finished work on the cross paid the penalty for your sin. Then, ask Him to come into your life.

Matthew 13:45-46

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45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, 46 who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it. ~ Matthew 13:45-46

Today, we continue our study in Matthew 13 where the Lord Jesus is in Peter's house in Capernaum teaching His disciples. Having utilized five parables to teach them about His kingdom, today He shares with them the sixth. The parable of the pearl of great price is quite interesting since a pearl is not even mentioned in the entire Old Testament. Through His teaching of this parable, the Lord Jesus, yet again, reveals another aspect of the kingdom of heaven to us.

The main character in this parable was a merchant who traveled around buying things at wholesale prices and then he would sell them at a retail price. Merchants were very common in those days. They were diligent to find deals that would render them a handsome profit. The pearls of their day were the equivalent of diamonds today, they were the most valuable gem in the world at that time. In fact, pearls were particularly found in the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf and in the Indian Ocean. Like the man in the previous parable discovered treasure buried in the ground, this man found a pearl and sold all that he had in order to purchase the one valuable pearl. 

The Lord Jesus told this parable in order to reveal the value of the kingdom of heaven. When something possesses such value, it deserves our complete attention. The kingdom of heaven points us to the King of heaven, the Lord Jesus Christ.  Convinced of its value, we will sell everything we have to be defined by His kingdom. As we invest in God's kingdom, we will be increasingly convinced that nothing comes close to it in value. We will do all of this with the understanding that we cannot do anything to earn God's acceptance. In fact, it is His grace that motivates us unto obedience to Him. We will be increasingly convinced that God's kingdom is what we want to invest in with everything we have. 

In this parable, the pearl was hidden for a reason, it had to be hidden so that it could be sought. The subtle message here is that our hearts must be engage in the pursuit of God's kingdom. Most do not see the value and the preciousness of the kingdom of heaven. Those not awakened to God look upon those who are and they do not understand why we want to live and obey a code of ethics and rules that goes against the grain of our deepest lusts and drives. They can't see the value of God and His rule in their lives because they are yet blinded. Like them, we were all born without the ability to see God and His kingdom accurately. Most are so busy with what this world offers, sadly, they never discover the treasure underneath. This is why the Lord Jesus came to this earth, to enable us to see what is of true value.  

I find it most instructive that the pearl is a product of an irritation.  The pearl actually begins as a little piece of dirt that works its way into the shell of an oyster and irritates it. In response, the oyster sends out a serum and the serum covers the little piece of sand over and over until it is formed into a pearl over a long period of time. It typically takes at least two years for an oyster to produce a pearl, with some taking up to four years. The pearl is the product of an irritated response to irritation. This is a picture of how we generally respond to the truth. That is, until we begin to learn the liberating preciousness of the truth.

Years ago, a wealthy man who, with his son, shared a passion for art collecting. Together they traveled around the world, adding only the fin­est art treasures to their collection. Priceless works by Pi­casso, Van Gogh, Monet, and many others adorned the walls of their family estate. Soon war engulfed their nation, and the son left to serve his country. After only a few short weeks, his father received a telegram confirming his son's death. He had been killed while rushing a fellow soldier to a medic. One day the distraught old man received a knock at his door. As he walked to the door, the mas­terpieces of art on the walls reminded him of his son. As he opened the door, he was greeted by a soldier with a large package in his hands. After introducing himself to the old man the young man told the man that he was a friend of his son. He then told him that he had something to show him.

It was then that the young man gave the old man a package which he quickly unwrapped. Revealed was a portrait of the man’s son. Overcome with emotion, the old man thanked the soldier for the most valuable gift, proposing to hang the picture above the fireplace, pushing aside thousands of dollars worth of art. Not long thereafter, the man passed away, and the day arrived that art collectors from around the world gathered to bid on his valuable paintings. The auction began with a painting that most didn't recognize. It was the painting of the man’s son. The auctioneer asked for an opening bid, but the room was si­lent. After a few moments a man offered ten dollars for the painting. Just then, the auctioneer looked out over the audience and said the auction was over. Stunned disbelief quieted the room. 

Just then, someone asked, “What do you mean, it’s over? We didn’t come here for a picture of some old guy’s son. What about all of these other paintings?” The auctioneer replied, “According to the will of the father, whoever wanted the son's portrait, gets all of it.” Our Heavenly Father from eternity past approached His Son the Lord Jesus Christ, to go make a trip to earth to give His life as a ransom resulting in the rescue of sinful man. In sending His Son to this earth, the Father also willed: "Whoever chooses the Son, gets it all.” Thus the lesson from the parable of the pearl of great price.

Matthew 13:44

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Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. ~ Matthew 13:44

Today, we return to our study of Matthew. Having spoken to the people using four parables, in today's passage the Lord Jesus taught the fifth of seven parables to His disciples inside Peter's house. The first two parables in this chapter teach about the nature of the mystery of God's kingdom which had been hidden from generations past. The parable of the soils differentiates between those who believe in the Lord Jesus as their Savior with those who do not. The second parable, the parable of the wheat and the tares, instructs us to keep the wheat and the tares together until the harvest comes. Otherwise, someone might uproot a tare before that tare would choose to believe in the Lord Jesus. 

The third and fourth parables teach of the power of the kingdom.  In spite of the fact that good and evil are growing together, the good will triumph in the end. The parable of the mustard seed teaches we must value what may seem to be insignificant because even though the kingdom of God began small it will increase value over time. And then there was the parable of the leaven which represents the kingdom, buried as it were in the dough of the world which, ultimately, will penetrate and permeate and influence the whole world. And the parable of the leaven shows the internal permeating influence of the kingdom which touches every dimension of human life. 

Today's parable is illustrated by a hidden treasure. In biblical days it was common for the people to bury their treasure in the ground. They did this because they feared being advanced upon by a group of people who desired to take their treasure. In this parable there was a man who was tilling up a field. It was then that he came across a treasure that had been buried. Immediately he put the treasure back where he found it and then went about purchasing the field for himself. The only way to possess the treasure was to purchase the land. Holding back at all would have cost him the greatest treasure he could have ever imagined. It is not enough that we found God, it is a must that we keep finding Him.

This is not a parable that teaches that we can earn our salvation. That is impossible! This is a parable that turns our attention from those not so substantive things of this world that once consumed our attention to the loving rule of God in our hearts and lives. To be ruled by God is to be defined by Him. Today's parable reveals to us how our eyes have been opened to the truth and how the truth is becoming so much more valuable to us than anything else. This parable emphasizes the change that is coming about in our value system. This parable reveals to us that which we value the most is that which satisfactorily defines us most. The moment we tasted the Lord to see that He is truly good, we could never go back to the empty cisterns of this world. This type of discovery caused the woman at the well to leave her water pot at the well.

Today's parable teaches us the Kingdom of God is of such value, that it is actually worth us giving up everything for it. Augustine once wrote, “Christ is not valued at all unless he is valued above all.” Obedience to God's commands, when motivated by our love and faith, is the source of our joy. This joy isn't simply a fleeting emotion, but a deeper, abiding sense of well-being that comes from aligning our lives with God and His will. When we treat obedience as something we do first and then we experience joy, we will have turned obedience into duty rather than devotion.

Few are ever called upon to give up everything for the kingdom of God, though there have been those who have given their very lives for the advancement of the gospel. Having said that, dying to the self life could be considered a higher calling than say literally dying for the gospel. "Dying to self" means surrendering our lives because we have come to the point in our lives that we are being defined by God. When God defines us, we prioritize His purposes above ours. When God is defining us, we essentially live a life that is more aligned with Christ's definitions of what is of most value in this life. 

Dying to self mustn't be confused with death of self because self-denial is not to be confused by self-rejection. As God works within us He enables us to increasingly recognize the utter foolishness of being defined by the world or ourselves. God desires for us to see and to embrace the essence of the Christian life which is "Christ in you the hope of glory." The Lord Jesus is truly the treasure and it is His joy that prompts us to value Him and His gospel in such a way that we prize above all His calling on our lives. And, we know that we are being defined by Him when we obey Him with a willing heart. When we make the Lord Jesus our greatest treasure, we will be empowered to lose sight of the negative side of faith.

Surrendering our lives fully to the Lord is no small thing. It requires of us to make the conscious choices to deny our natural desires and humbly submit to His leading and control in our lives. Dying to self means joyfully relinquishing all rights we think we have to our lives to the One who sacrificed everything to save us. It means enthroning Him as the rightful Lord over every area of our lives. Jim Elliot once said, "God always gives his best to those who leave the choice with him" Of course, we will never be perfect at obeying God this side of heaven but if we do not reach for perfection, we will not be effective at it. As we die to self, we are no longer found trying to get our own way. Rather, we let go of trying to make a good impression on God and others. Quite simply, when we die to self, we will no longer be obsessed with self of any sort. And, dying to self actually makes life easier because when we die to self and live to the Lord Jesus we will discover His joy and His contentment even when we’re overlooked and deemed unimportant by others.

Matthew 13:36-43

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36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field." 37 He answered and said to them: "He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. 39 The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. 40 Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. 41 The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, 42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" ~ Matthew 13:36-43

Today, we continue our study of Matthew 13 where the Lord Jesus used seven parables to explain to His hearers the nature of the kingdom of God. When the Lord Jesus decided to teach the people with parables He did so in order to confuse those who weren't really seeking the truth. A second reason was to make the truth more accessible and rewarding for those who sought it. Those who through their questions seek the Lord will enjoy a deeper fellowship with Him. It is through believing in the Lord Jesus as our Savior that we are justified in God's eyes and it is through being defined by God that we are being sanctified. Justification gets us into heaven and establishes us in a personal relationship with God, while sanctification gets heaven into us now and it furthers our fellowship with God.

In v.36 of today's passage we read, "Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, 'Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.'"

The Lord Jesus dismissed the multitude and went into Peter's house to be alone with His disciples. There have been times in my life when I have been acutely aware of my own loneliness even though I was among many people. I have found that this loneliness is always an invitation from the Lord to be alone with Him. Since we can't love someone we don’t know, we are wise to allow the scaffold of loneliness to enable us to draw nearer to the Lord. I am finding that it is in these moments that I am granted an expanding heart to hear the Lord and to grow in intimacy with Him. 

In response for further explanation, the Lord Jesus explained His parables to His disciples. God reveals His truth to those who seek Him through their questions. Although the disciples had heard four parables up to this point, they approached Him with a request for His explanation for the parable of the tares. They did this because of their confusion. We are often found in this same posture, confused by God's will and His teaching. It is during these moments of confusion that we tend to entertain more questions and when we bring those questions to Him in time we get answers. We must be wise in these moments to give Him the time to deliver the message we need to hear at the moment we need to hear it. All the while, we will find ourselves experiencing a greater degree of intimacy with Him.

In v.37-39 of today's passage we read, "37 He answered and said to them: 'He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. 39 The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels.'"

The Lord Jesus referred to Himself as "the Son of Man" more than any other designation in the gospels. In fact, the Lord Jesus is referred to as the "Son of Man" 82 times in the New Testament. By doing so, He identified Himself as the Messiah. In Daniel 7:13 we learn that the Messiah is referred to as the Son of Man.  So He, through that title, was identifying Himself as the Messiah, God incarnate. The is important because this designation means that He is both God and man who has been given authority by the Most High. At the cross He demonstrated His power in the most unusual way. He demonstrated His power through His weakness. This is what it means for Him to be the Son of Man.

According to Luke 22:69, the Jews knew that "the Son of Man" was a Messianic title. When He stood before the Sanhedrin the Lord Jesus said, "Hereafter the Son of Man will sit on the right hand of the power of God." To that the religious leaders of Israel responded, "Are You, then, the Son of God?"  To which He said He was the Son of Man. Then they reported that He claimed to be the Son of God. This proves they knew the title "Son of Man" was a Messianic reference.  And so, the sower in the parable of the sower was the Lord Jesus Christ, Himself. 

Even though Satan wrestled away Adam's authority over the earth in the Garden of Eden, the world is still God's field. It ultimately belongs to Him. He is King of the earth. He holds in His hand the title deed even though He hasn’t really laid claim to it fully as He will according to Revelation 6 when He will unroll the scroll. By doing so, He will reclaim the title deed to the earth. So, the Lord sows His seed or His word in the world which belongs to Him. Having received the word from the Lord and therefore having entered into a personal relationship with God, we are not where we are on this earth by accident. The Lord planted us where we are to serve Him by serving others. We are in this world to be used of God as He reaches out to the tares. And, we must never forget that we were once tares.

In v.40-42 of today's passage we read, "40 Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. 41 The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, 42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth."

God is not the author of evil, it proceeded from the "devil"  which means adversary. We were once on his team without even knowing it. The Lord reminds us that "the harvest waits till the end of the age."  He said this because the disciples were ready to usher in the Lord's kingdom with force but the fullness of time for the Gentiles had not yet happened. In fact, we are still in that time awaiting the second coming of the Lord when He will usher in His millennial kingdom. The second coming will happen at the end of the Tribulation which is referred to in Daniel 9 as the time of Jacob's trouble.

The tares or the unbelievers will be gathered up by the angels of the Lord and burned. And their reaction will be "wailing and gnashing of teeth." Those in hell will experience painful, eternal, inevitable, inescapable judgment because no amount of suffering on the behalf of those who are yet in their sin will satisfy the wrath of God. This just underscores the eternal value of what the Lord Jesus did for us on the cross. It was at His cross that He rescued us from the wrath of God that we rightfully deserve. The wrath of God is the absence of God in our lives.

In v.43 of today's passage we read, "Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" 

At the end of time, the much anticipated kingdom of God will be established. And those who valued their hearing by listening to and receiving the free gift that came through the cross of the Lord Jesus will reflect the likeness of God like the sun shines in the midday sky. Those who were justified through the cross and sanctified by the Holy Spirit will be glorified by the Father.

The Lord Jesus used the analogy of hearing to describe the process our hearts went through resulting in being saved. At the heart of sin is self-reliance. Not everybody who has ears hear. Not everyone listens to the Lord but He speaks to everyone. The Bible is clear that all of creation is continually revealing truth to everyone about God. In Psalm 19:1 we read, "The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands." In Romans 1:20 we read, "For since the creation of the world, His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made." Not everyone responds to God from a heart of trust. At the end of time those who will be declared by God as righteous will be those who received the free gift of His righteousness through the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Matthew 13:33-35

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33 Another parable He spoke to them: "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened. 34 All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to them, 35 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: "I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world." ~ Matthew 13:33-35

Today, we continue our study of the fourth of seven parables found in Matthew 13. This is also the last parable in Matthew 13 spoken by the Lord Jesus to the crowd. The remaining three, dealing with the inner secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, were spoken only to the disciples. Both the parable of the mustard seed and today's parable speak about the incredible influence the gospel has in any context. The parable of the mustard seed and the parable of the leaven both reveal the importance of small beginnings or humility. The Lord Jesus utilized these two parables together in order to describe the kingdom of God in its guaranteed ultimate greatness in the hearts of people. It was Watchman Nee who once said, "I must first have the sense of God's possession of me before I can have the sense of His presence with me."

In the Old Testament God told us in advance through the prophets that the kingdom of God would ultimately come to our sin-sick hearts. When the Lord Jesus Christ came to this earth as a baby, He came as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. The Jews didn't expect this. Instead, they expected Him to come as the Lion of Judah who will rule the world with a rod of iron. Of course, this is yet to happen. Since Israel had missed His first coming, they were not ready to yield their hearts and souls to Him. This will be the point of the Tribulation and one-third of Israel will be saved through that seven year period of chaos that is almost here. The Jews problem was they didn't expect Him to do it the way He did it. But God's ways are not man's ways. From the very beginning God had promised to not only bless Abraham and his people but also the Gentiles with an intimate and personal relationship with Himself. We will always find ourselves in error when we evaluate God on the basis of our understanding alone. 

The first two parables in this chapter describe the nature of God's kingdom. There will always this side of heaven be those who receive His kingdom and there will always be those who reject it. In the second set of parables, the parable of the mustard seed and the parable of leaven, the Lord Jesus taught about the power of God's kingdom. Whereas through the parable of the mustard seed the Lord taught that the believer and the unbeliever must be allowed to exist together until the time of the fullness of the Gentiles has come about, the parable of the leaven emphasizes how God's kingdom permeates the hearts of the broken and the willing.

In this parable the woman took leaven and hid it in three measures of meal which is the equivalent of about 30 pounds. Leaven is a single-cell organism, only visible under a microscope, that people use to bake bread. It sparks a fermentation process that causes a solid, dense ball of dough to rise into a soft loaf. Its effects begin after we mix together flour, water, and yeast. It consumes and breaks down sugars present in the dough, releasing carbon dioxide and alcohol, which produce air bubbles that cause the dough to rise, becoming airier, and thus making the dough tastier and more edible. The leaven  illustrates the power of the kingdom of God. A small amount of leaven produces a massive amount of dough. This illustration  reminds us that the kingdom of God begins small but due to its permeating nature, it changes the hearts of people from the inside out. 

So, the true Christian life is Christ living in us. The work of the enemy of our souls is always from the outside in, whereas the work of the Lord will always be from the inside out. After God plants His leaven inside our soul He always works from the inside out. And, God always blesses us with others in mind. God's life planted in us makes us increasingly alive to Him. Vance Havner once said, "The first discovery a Christian needs to make is that he cannot of himself live the Christian life. Living the Christian life is not so much our responsibility but our response to His ability." This is why the Lord throughout the Scriptures implores us to focus on Him and His abilities rather than ourselves and any change that may come about in our lives over time.

While most believe the secret to the Christian life is self-perfection, it is not. No, the secret to the Christian life is the freedom of the presence of God in our lives to do what He pleases. Whereas our old life ended at the cross of the Lord Jesus, our new life began at His resurrection. Since we cannot can earn God's favor unto salvation, we cannot achieve spiritual growth through our own efforts to become "better" people. Self-reliance often leads to pride and a diminished reliance upon God. The essence of the Christian life is about receiving and responding to God's grace, His unmerited favor and His transformative power. Christian discipleship calls for denying oneself and following Christ, rather than focusing on self-improvement. It is only by His grace that we are enabled to growth in faith in His ability to produce His character in, to and through us. Our hope is realized by us through Christ in us who is our ultimate hope. 

Matthew 13:31-32

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31 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, 32 which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches." ~ Matthew 13:31-32

Today, we return to our study of Matthew 13 where the Lord Jesus is utilizing seven parables in His teaching. In fact, He is on His third parable, the parable of the mustard seed. By using parables, the Lord Jesus was able to share truths that immediately connected with His listeners which they largely understood. As a result, they became more engaged so that in their minds they experienced the story for themselves. When the Lord Jesus taught in parables, He engaged the people’s imaginations, allowing them to arrive at the most important truths in life.

Through His teaching the Lord Jesus was describing His kingdom. The term "Kingdom of heaven" occurs some sixty times in the synoptic gospels: Matthew, Mark and Luke. The King, of course, is God Our Father who is in heaven. Broadly speaking, the Kingdom of heaven is the application of God's definitions for all things in our lives. It is the culture of God come upon the hearts and the lives of all who willingly submit to His authority. Submitting to the kingdom of heaven is seeking to be defined by God. It is taking to heart what God has said on a given subject. 

The Lord Jesus described His kingdom through the smallest known seed at that time. His kingdom always starts out small and ends up big. As His kingdom germinates in our hearts, we are defined more and more by Him. To recognize the nature of His kingdom requires faith on our part. Augustine once said, "Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe." The more we place our trust in Him we learn of His undying faithfulness to us. As a result, we learn to take risks on Him and His ways more and more.

Through His teaching of the parable of the mustard seed, the Lord Jesus provided another agrarian story that His hearers quickly understood. The mustard seed represents the ability of our faith to grow. Such faith is built upon trusting God whom we can't see with our eyes but whom we are learning to see with our hearts. Thomas Aquinas once said, "To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible." Our faith in the God of the Bible has the ability to grow only as it is exercised. Like the muscles in our bodies, the more we exercise them, the stronger they will become. So, when we find ourselves being broken down of our will in the middle of a trial, we must continue to pursue God with our hearts and our minds. When we avail ourselves to a deepening personal relationship with Him, the result will be that we will become stronger in our trust of Him. 

There is a species of mustard called the Khardal mustard, which is a bush, and it grows up to fifteen feet tall. Before it is buried in the ground to die it is pretty insignificant. But, once it grows up into a bush it is strong enough to support birds that nest in its branches. The mustard seed is small and unimpressive, yet as it grows it can produce a great benefit for others. With the Lord Jesus it is always about others. Required for us to get to this place is that we must embrace our smallness and His bigness. The problem is God's definition of bigness is different than ours. Through the teaching of this parable we learn His kingdom begins small, but expands with time and trust. In its beginning it is always insignificant and humble. But, we mustn't dismiss the small things in this life. God gives grace to the humble and this is how His kingdom works. As long as King David was small in his own eyes he experienced the grace of God in Goliath proportions.

If we are willing to let Him, God will include us in the building of His kingdom in this world today. When we trust in Him, concluding He is with us, He will actively guide our steps. We will learn in time to let go of the anxious worry which so often distracts and defines us. We can be fully where we are, living out of our relationship with the Lord and others. This is the normal result of the application of the gospel of the Lord Jesus to the human heart. If we let it, the gospel will take away our pride and emphasis upon self and lead us in the way of selflessness. As we learn to be defined by Him and walk in His ways, others will be drawn to Him through our yielded lives.

The  Lord Jesus gave explanation for the first two parables so that we could pursue our understanding of the remaining five. By explaining the first two, the Lord Jesus gave us a start which is always fueled by our pursuit of Him. It is clear from the first two parables in this chapter that every element in this parable has significance. Again, the mustard seed grows up to be a rather insignificant and unimpressive bush. In fact, its process of development illustrates the absurdity of our growing faith in the God of the Bible. In our fallen state, faith in the God of the Bible is not normal. But, it is possible for us to have faith in Him as it grows through increased use. Enduring the pain of trials renders for us a heart that sees God more vividly. Martin Luther once said, "Faith is a living, daring confidence in God's grace, so sure and certain that a man could stake his life on it a thousand times." It is only as we go through the trials of this life which drive us to the Lord Jesus that we develop the muscle memory of heart that enables us to trust Him even through the most severe trials. And, when we avoid the trials, we essentially avoid Him. The trials grant us the heart to pursue and embrace Him.