Matthew 15:29-31

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29 Jesus departed from there, skirted the Sea of Galilee, and went up on the mountain and sat down there. 30 Then great multitudes came to Him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus’ feet, and He healed them. 31 So the multitude marveled when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel. ~ Matthew 15:29-31

Today, we return to our study of Matthew 15. The Lord Jesus began His earthly ministry in the northern region of Israel, and, for two years plus He ministered in that region. As it is today, Galilee was a rural area then, and the people are far more common and less educated. Before leaving that area for Jerusalem, the Lord Jesus traveled over the border to the north and west of Israel and entered into Gentile territory once again even though He had been rejected there before. 

In v.29 of today's passage we read, "Jesus departed from there, skirted the Sea of Galilee, and went up on the mountain and sat down there."

According to Mark's gospel, the Lord Jesus went to the Decapolis or the Ten Greek Towns which were occupied by Romans. As a result, the culture there was defined accordingly. Needless to say there weren't many who were mindful of God who lived in that area. Earlier, when the Lord Jesus was in that area, the people asked Him to leave because they thought Him to be a threat to their way of life. The Lord Jesus complied and departed to the area of Capernaum. 

On this occasion when the Lord Jesus returned to that eastern shore area, the locals brought to Him many who were quite ill. In that group according to Mark's gospel was a deaf mute man. This desperate man, and all the rest who were brought to the Lord Jesus, was an illustration of how desperation can serve us best. Desperate people do desperate things. These people undoubtedly had tried everything else to remedy their problems. They were obviously dangling from their last rope. Like them, it was out of my desperation that I cried out to the Lord. It was the death of my parents that led me to the point of being desperate enough to cry out to the Lord for help. And boy, am I glad I did. As a side note, Abraham, the first Jew, was a Gentile before he became a Jew. It was God's culture or definitions of things that brought about the difference. And, by the way, the word "Jew" comes from the word Judah which means "Thank you!"

In v.30 of today's passage we read, "Then great multitudes came to Him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus’ feet, and He healed them."

The once skeptical people in the Decapolis brought many ill people to the Lord Jesus who healed them. According to Mark there was one man whom the Lord Jesus healed by placing His fingers in his ears. Since the man was deaf, he could not hear, but, he could feel. The Lord put His fingers in this man's ears so that he could feel the touch of God who was addressing his ear problem. And, since speech is tied to our ability to hear, the Lord Jesus then touched the man's tongue. He spat, perhaps into His hand, and then He touched the man's tongue. To somebody who was so helpless, the touch of the Messiah was a great encouragement, and, it bolstered the man's faith in the Lord Jesus. When the Lord Jesus looked in the man's eyes, He saw the look of faith. It was at that point that the man was immediately healed. Faith is the required ingredient to receiving anything from God. With the physical healing, the Lord Jesus awakened the man's faith and caused him to believe in Him. His faith was a product of his healing.

According to Mark, at that moment the Lord Jesus looked up to heaven, revealing the source of His power. God's power, when accessed, is always accessed through submission to the Father's will. The Lord Jesus spoke, not to the man’s ears, but to his heart. This is what He does for all who call on Him for help. In fact, He continues to speaks to our hearts daily. This is the key to abiding in Him. And, He has been known to use some rather unusual means to make an audience out of our hearts. Just after I had graduated from high school, I didn’t know God, so I didn’t know how to listen to Him or how to speak with Him. As you know, in May of 1981, my father became very sick to the point of death. Just three days before his death in October of the same year, the Lord Jesus met me right where I was. That day, He clearly spoke to my heart which was garrisoned by my grief. As a result, that day I cried out to Him and it was then that He became my Savior.

Although my emotional blockages hindered my ability to understand, over time the Lord communicated with me in a way that I could understand. Somehow, He enabled me to know that His intentions for me were all good and that I could trust Him. Like the many that He healed that day on that mountain at the Decapolis, I sensed His deep sigh many times. He probed the deep places of my heart, where the pains of life had left many scars. He confronted that deep, searing pain, that was in me due to loss of both of my parents at a young age. He performed His work of enabling my heart to see and hear Him for myself mostly through my pain. 

In v.31 of today's passage we read, "So the multitude marveled when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel."

The people marveled that day as the Lord Jesus healed so many. Like the multitude, the eyes of our hearts are drawn to Him through the many healings. That is where our faith must rest. Sadly, as Henry David Thoreau pointed out so long ago, "Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them." Just like these desperate people, the Lord Jesus came looking for us to offer to us what we could not produce for ourselves. If we are desperate enough, when we come to faith in Him, we will become living symbols of what the Lord can do in and through our willing hearts. This was not only what we needed, this is what this desperate world needs. Like you and me, they need His undying love to set them free from the way of the enemy who is out to destroy them. And, once the Lord does this work in their hearts, they will be granted His heart to see the lost who are desperate to be set free from the evil ties that bind them.

Matthew 15:21-28

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21 Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed." 23 But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, "Send her away, for she cries out after us." 24 But He answered and said, "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." 25 Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, "Lord, help me!" 26 But He answered and said, "It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs." 27 And she said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table." 28 Then Jesus answered and said to her, "O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire." And her daughter was healed from that very hour. ~ Matthew 15:21-28

Today, we return to our study of Matthew 15 where the Lord Jesus has been sparing with the Jewish religious leaders who had come from Jerusalem to Galilee in order to discredit Him in the eyes of the people there. The popularity of the Lord Jesus was so great that the Jewish religious leaders made the 90 mile trip in order to quell it. We try to control that which threatens us and this was the motivation of the religious leaders who had what most thought was the best life but their eternity with God was blocked by their greed. Protecting their comfort on this earth so blinded these religious leaders that they missed God when He walked right into their lives.

In v.21-22 of today's passage we read, "21 Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, 'Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.'"  

After dealing with the religious leaders, the Lord Jesus traveled with His disciples about thirty-five miles to the Mediterranean Sea town of Tyre. Earlier in this chapter, the observant to the law religious leaders of Israel accused the Lord Jesus of violating the Word of God. Interestingly, these "leaders" adherence to the "Law of Moses" and all of their additions to it resulted in them being smug and more separate from the people who needed the truth most. The Lord Jesus took the disciples to Tyre to illustrate in terms of race what He had just taught in terms of food. All foods are clean, and all peoples are clean, in the sense of being acceptable by God. There are no longer any distinctions among foods, as being defiling or undefiling, just as there are no distinctions among people.

As the Lord Jesus and His disciples entered Tyre, the crowd, according to Mark's gospel, was so great that He had to slip away into a house to escape them. In that home in Tyre there "just so happened to be" a desperate Gentile woman who asked the Lord Jesus to cast a demon from her very possessed daughter. Her desperation gave room to potential hope enabling her to bring her desperate need to the Lord. Her faith had brought her to possible rejection, but she was so desperate. The risk she ran was great in the eyes of all in that day. Women were not supposed to approach a man whom she did not know. This kind of faith, though, is the key to what life is truly all about: encountering God and telling others about Him.

This woman was an unnamed Canaanite, one of the people groups that were condemned in the Old Testament by God. Of course, we were all condemned by our rebelliousness before God, but this woman had a double dose of rejection from God. Even though she was a Gentile, a non-Jew she knew to address the Lord Jesus as "the Son of David!" By using this Jewish covenant designation, she made her appeal on the promises that God had made to the people of Israel. In addition, by using this designation of the Lord Jesus, she acknowledged Him as Israel's Messiah, something the religious leaders of Israel didn't do. Unlike the Jewish religious leaders, this lady was being defined by God.

In v.23-24 of today's passage we read, "23 But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, 'Send her away, for she cries out after us.' 24 But He answered and said, 'I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.'"

Initially, after the Lord Jesus had paid no attention to the woman, the disciples came and urged Him to send her away because she had become annoying. This happened so that her faith would be challenged and subsequently made real for all to see, including her. Most people run from the trials that come in life, but trials hone our ability to see and embrace God with our hearts. By embracing our trials rather than running from them, we make room for a context to be formed where we are granted by God a growing depth in our walk with Him. Most never get to this place with God. Most, like the religious leaders from Jerusalem love their comfort way too much to do such a thing.

In response to the obnoxious and persistent faith of this desperate woman, the Lord Jesus said, "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." In saying this He was simply stating that He was sent to reach His own people, the Jews with the Gospel. But, as John 1:11 points out, "He came unto His own and His own rejected Him." Most of the people of Israel, due to their unbelief, did not recognize the Lord Jesus as their Messiah. He did not match their definition of what they thought the Messiah should be. This has always been our problem, we always prefer our definition of something over God's. In this case Israel misdefined their Messiah. 

In v.25 of today's passage we read, "Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, 'Lord, help me!'"

This Gentile woman was unfazed by that which the Lord Jesus had said. She was persistent. She didn't give up easily. She utilized a direct approach with the Lord Jesus because she knew that He was her only hope. She knew that if the Lord Jesus didn't help her, her demon-possessed daughter would not make it. 

In v.26 of today's passage we read, "But He answered and said, 'It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.'"

The Lord Jesus employed an illustration that this woman clearly understood. The context of this analogy was the dinner table. And, the Lord Jesus used the Greek word for dog here that was less offensive than another He could have used. He used the word that described the pets that one would have in the home, not the scavengers out in the allies. The Lord Jesus used this illustration to deliberately push whatever faith this woman had in Him to the edge. This desperate lady was like the family dog that feeds on crumbs that have fallen from the table. The Lord Jesus is always on the lookout for such faith. He saw this woman's desperation and her subsequent faith that made this miracle come to pass.

In v.27 of today's passage we read, "And she said, 'Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.'"

The Jews often called Gentiles "scavenger dogs" which was a complete insult. But, the Lord Jesus used the other term which served to draw out the woman's faith. Her response was, "I know my place, I'm not under the covenant that the Jewish people are under, I don't have the right to ask for the choice morsels, like the covenant people of the Jews, I just want the leftovers. Just throw me the scraps. Please, show me mercy." 

Previously, when Peter was caught in the storm, he took his eyes off of the Lord Jesus and began to sink. When this woman was caught in a very different storm, she stayed focused on the Lord Jesus, and fell to her knees before Him. That’s the kind of faith that the Lord finds to be great. This happened on the heels of the Lord Jesus exposing the utter mindlessness of the religious leaders who were bent upon earning God's favor. Here, the observant Jew was given yet another example that he was no longer to be defined by his religious activities which drew out their hearts away from Him to self. Like this Gentile lady in Tyre, we must adopt a pure heart in the God of the Bible who sent His Son who gave His life to win our hearts. Spirituality is much more than carefully observed rituals. It is a wild search for God in the arena of our desperation mixed with the unexpected and the uncomfortable. Out of this grows faith. 

In v.28 of today's passage we read, "Then Jesus answered and said to her, "O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire." And her daughter was healed from that very hour."

The faith of this significant gentile woman was much greater than most in the Bible. When she arrived at her home, she found her daughter lying quietly in her bed. And the demon was no longer in her. That very hour, a despised Gentile became a grateful recipient of the grace of God. Great desperation plus persistent faith equaled wholeness. We are never quite convinced that the Lord Jesus is all we need until He is all we have.

Matthew 15:15-20

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15 Then Peter answered and said to Him, "Explain this parable to us." 16 So Jesus said, "Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? 18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. 19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. 20 These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man." ~ Matthew 15:15-20

Today, we return to our study of Matthew 15 where the Lord Jesus had just told His disciples that the problem with religion is that it emphasizes the externals to the detriment of the heart. He taught when we lay up treasures in heaven our hearts will look heavenward. The Lord Jesus, in the eyes of the disciples, had insulted the Jewish religious leaders with a parable they didn't quite understand. This is why they came to Him with the question in the previous verses. This is what prompted Peter to ask the Lord Jesus to explain the parable.

In v.15 of today's passage we read, "Then Peter answered and said to Him, 'Explain this parable to us.'"

As previously mentioned, the Jewish religious leaders had traveled 90 miles from Jerusalem to undermine the Lord Jesus. After they tried to discredit the Lord Jesus, He isolated the loophole that they had created. These religious leaders had come up with a ceremonial man-made law that religious Jewish people observed. They ceremonially washed their hands to signify that they were clean before they ate. They didn't use soap and water to really clean their hands, they just went through the motions to signify that they were clean. 

This practice was all about religious rules and appearances, not about actually being clean. Their loophole enabled them in certain circumstances to avoid obeying the fifth commandment of Moses to honor their father and mother. God expects adult children to take care of their elderly and aging parents. But, according to the religious leaders, if someone didn’t want to support their parents, they could donate the money to the temple instead. This was nothing but greed on all sides. When we have fallen in love with our sin, we will hate the light without even knowing it.

The Lord Jesus used this example to show that the Jewish religious leaders were wrong in their love for their sin for it undermined the word of God. The reason they came from Jerusalem was to undermine the Lord Jesus and their words revealed the wickedness in their hearts. The disciples thought the Lord Jesus had insulted the religious leaders and due to their incorrect understanding of what was really going on, they didn't understand the parable the Lord Jesus had subsequently employed in His response. This explains Peter's need for explanation. 

In v.16-19 of today's passage we read, "16 So Jesus said, 'Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? 18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. 19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.'"

Peter didn't understand defilement of the heart. He didn't understand that it is out of a sinful heart that all sin proceeds. He didn't quite get the idea that it is the sinful heart that gives birth to the outward behavior that is unacceptable. Peter didn't understand that we are not defiled by our diet. He didn't get that real filth comes from a wicked heart that we all share. Our hearts are given either to springs of living water or poisoned wells. Evidently, Peter had forgotten that it was the Jewish prophet Jeremiah who wrote in Jeremiah 17:9, "The heart is deceitful above everything, desperately wicked.  Who can know it?" 

This list of sins in today's passage is not exhaustive, as if these are the only sins that come out of the fallen human heart. Like most lists given in the Bible, this list is suggestive. It simply gives examples. The Lord Jesus identified seven deadly sins which reveal that our sinful behavior comes from our sinful hearts, and that is what makes us unclean before God. We sinned not because someone forced us to sin or we had no choice but to sin. It was not even because we weren’t smart enough to understand what we were doing. We sinned not because we just couldn’t help ourselves or because our parents did something to us to make us sin. We sinned and we sin because we have an evil heart. 

The problem the Jewish religious leaders had was with the self. The self had become their final arbiter of truth. And, when that happens we will always be at odds with God because the flesh or the self is always contrary to the Holy Spirit. We fail to remember that mankind was given to evil the moment we took of the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. It was then that we stopped being defined by God. When we were "born again" we entered into the battle for our heart. This battle takes place daily and will continue until we are removed from this earth through death or the Rapture. Therefore, we must be wise to recognize that if we are not daily giving our heart to God we risk the fate of the self-life which always brings with it various forms of death. 

Our society loves to blame others for our sin. We turn sin into syndromes. We turn disobedience into disorders. We turn lusts into addictions. We turn alcoholism into a disease on the order of cancer. But at some point, we need to take personal responsibility for our sins. At some point, we need to come to the point where we admit that we are rotten and we are in desperate need of God. This is what repentance is all about, turning from ourselves and turning to God for His help to overcome the self-life.

Sin had blinded the Jewish nation along with their religious leaders. Sin corrupted us all in our heart and blinded our eyes. And, it is only those who own up to this truth who are positioned to receive forgiveness from God. The religious leaders of Israel did not see their need to repent. This is why they resisted the Lord Jesus as they did. What the religious leaders did not understand was the fact that their problem did not need a message about their change in behavior. What they needed was a message that explained the necessity of a change in their nature, something they were not willing to admit. The Lord Jesus wasn’t also under their control, so they desperately wanted to get rid of Him.

In v.20 of today's passage we read, "These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man."

While the Jewish religious leaders believed holiness was measured by external things like the washing of hands, the Lord Jesus taught holiness was a matter of the heart. Whether we realize it or not, understand it or not, or believe it or not, we are involved in a war for our heart every moment of every day. As the Lord Jesus had pointed out earlier in this chapter, the Jewish religious leaders had elevated their teachings over God’s word. This being the case, they were confused about sin, about what makes people unacceptable before a holy God. The religious leaders thought their problem was caused by what went into them. This is why the Lord Jesus corrected them. This is why John the Baptist came teaching repentance. Without turning away from our way, without a change of mind and heart to turn to the Lord and His way, we will never get to the heart of our problem. And, the heart of our problem is who will be our savior, ourselves or the Lord?

Matthew 15:12-14

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12 Then His disciples came and said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?” 13 But He answered and said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. 14 Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.” ~ Matthew 15:12-14

Today, we return to our study of Matthew 15 where the religious leaders from Jerusalem had traveled 90 miles to confront the Lord Jesus because they felt His popularity was getting to be too great. They feared losing their status with the people of Israel so they felt that they had to diminish the Lord Jesus in their eyes. To do this they felt they must catch Him in sin. Since they had a hard time of doing that, they caught His disciples in sin, so they thought. The Lord Jesus then set them straight revealing to them their sin. They were the self-appointed guides of God’s people but they were blind.

In v.12 of today's passage we read, "Then His disciples came and said to Him, 'Do You know that the Pharisees were offended  when they heard this saying?'"

The Lord Jesus rejected the teachings of the Jewish religious leaders because their teaching did not align with the truth. These religious leaders avoided addressing man's problem which is that his heart is utterly wicked apart from the Lord. When His disciples were alone with the Lord Jesus they asked Him the ridiculous question. They asked if He knew that He had offended the religious leaders. Since He is God, the Lord Jesus knows all things. The disciples had been with Him three years and they still asked this very ignorant question revealing how shallow was their theology. 

The religious leaders of Israel seemed to lack the knowledge that all of mankind since the Fall of man in the Garden of Eden had been polluted by sin or planted by Lucifer. Christianity is the only "world religion" that teaches Original Sin, meaning that man was born with a wicked, sinful heart. And, it is sin that has separated us from having a personal relationship with God and from loving Him and others as we ought. When we entered into a personal relationship with God, He, through the Holy Spirit began writing His law on our hearts. The essence of His law is "love." And, through His Spirit and His Word, He teaches us His love for us, modeling for us what it looks like to love others. There is no way for Christians to justify treating others in a way that God does not treat us. One way of knowing that we are growing in a meaningful personal relationship with God is seen in how we treat other people, especially the worst.

Brennan Manning writes in his book Abba's Child, "My identity as Abba’s child is not an abstraction or a tap dance into religiosity. It is the core truth of my existence. Living in the wisdom of accepted tenderness profoundly affects my perception of reality, the way I respond to people and their life situations. How I treat my brothers and sisters from day to day, whether they be Caucasian, African, Asian, or Hispanic; how I react to the sin-scarred wino on the street; how I respond to interruptions from people I dislike; how I deal with ordinary people in their ordinary unbelief on an ordinary day will speak the truth of who I am more poignantly than the pro-life sticker on the bumper of my car."

It was a good thing that the Jewish religious leaders were offended. Had they not been would have revealed just how closed off they were to truth. I find it rather instructive that the two men who took the Lord Jesus down from the cross after He had died were both former Pharisees. Typically a criminal would be dumped into an empty grave or a pauper’s field, buried under a pile of rocks. But, Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea were those two men and once they touched the dead body of the Lord Jesus they were cut off from being leaders in the Jewish religious community. This came at a very high price. They were henceforth not paid the handsome salaries they received as Jewish religious leaders.

Nicodemus and Joseph didn’t realize that Calvary did not spell the end of the Lord Jesus, but the end of death. The blood-encrusted body they laid in that tomb would soon come to life, shaking off the cloth wrappings and thus the chains of death. Nicodemus couldn’t have known that the expensive ointments and perfumes used to give the Lord Jesus a King’s burial were only temporary. Joseph didn’t know that his tomb would only be a temporary resting place for the Son of God. This grave would sit empty forever, and so would the graves of those who trust the Lord Jesus as Savior. Joseph’s prized real estate would stand as a witness of Christ’s triumph over the curse of sin. 

In v.13-14 of today's passage we read, "13 But He answered and said, 'Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. 14 Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.'"

The plant was a metaphor for anyone who has no personal relationship with God, particularly the religious leaders of Jerusalem. The metaphor was used to describe the evil condition of such men who should have known the identity of the Lord Jesus when He was born in Bethlehem. The religious leaders appeared to most to have had a relationship with God but as the Lord Jesus will later say, they were of their father the devil. 

In Psalm 1:6 we read, "The way of the ungodly shall perish." Notice that this verse does not read, "The ungodly shall perish." God put it the way He did in order to point out that the ungodly always has the opportunity to turn away from the way that leads to destruction. By repenting from the way of the self, they could be postured to believe in Him as their Savior. By the way, anything is godly because God is there. We, through the Lord Jesus have been pronounced godly because the Holy Spirit is present in our lives and the Lord Jesus sacrifice on the cross opened the door for that to happen. God has given to all who are willing enough to believe in His Son the free gift of forgiveness and the subsequent godliness.

Matthew 15:10-11

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10 When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, "Hear and understand: 11 Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man." ~ Matthew 15:10-11

Today, we return to our study of Matthew 15 where the Lord Jesus has just been confronted by the Jewish religious leaders who had come to Galilee from Jerusalem. They confronted the Lord Jesus because His disciples were noticed by them for not washing ceremonially before they ate. Of course, as we considered in our last study, this was not a commandment given by God for any other than the priests who worked in the Temple doing their different tasks on the behalf of the people. The Lord Jesus had pointed out that these religious leaders were just that, religious. Those who are religious place emphasis on themselves and their performance particularly in an area where they are good at what needs to be done. And, they think their good performance somehow earns favor with God. We know this not to be true and in fact this is why the Lord Jesus came to earn God's favor for sinful man through His perfectly lived life and His perfectly provided death at the cross.

In today's passage, the Lord Jesus called the multitudes of people to hear Him and understand as a result of their hearing. In John 10:27 we read, "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me." This is the reason why many never find God, because they refuse to investigate with an open heart. Had these Jewish religious leaders honestly come to the Lord Jesus, they would have found Him. Once we believe in the Lord Jesus as our Savior, we began to recognize His voice. Oh, I've never heard His voice with my ears but I have heard it with my heart. Once we have heard Him and we continue to hear Him, we know that we have entered into a personal relationship with Him. This starts out almost unnoticeable but with time we learn to recognize what has happened to us that He awakened our hearts to hear Him. 

Learning to hear God with our hearts is biblical faith. This ability comes to us as a result of being awakened to God by the abiding Holy Spirit who leads us and trains us to hear the Father's voice. As this happens, we grow in the assurance that we are the children of God. This does not mean that we have or will always follow Him, there are times when we lose sight of Him when we disobey. But, at the end of the day, the Holy Spirit sees fit that we ultimately follow the Lord. Our rightness before God is not found in our performance.

Somewhere along the way, the Jewish religious leaders had rejected their worship of the God of the Bible and they were being defined by their definitions of all things. Essentially they worshipped themselves. This is how the truth can be lost from one generation to another. This is why we must be diligent, on a daily basis, to bow our wills to Him, so that His truth permeates in and through our lives to the generations that follow.

These Jewish religious leaders kept the law, but not God's law, and, in so doing, they appeared to be in relationship with God but they were not. In context here, the Lord Jesus traced for us what it looks like when the traditions of men supersede His Word. We go the way of these religious leaders when we fail to understand the point of God's definitions of all things, and, our need to allow Him to define us. Throughout the Bible, God gives us His definitions of all things in order to reiterate what life is really all about which is His desire to provide for us our best life which ultimately brings Him glory. But, we have replaced His definitions instead with ours, thinking we know better than He. 

The Lord Jesus said, "(It is) not what goes into the mouth (that) defiles a man, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man." 

In the Old Testament book of Leviticus God said that certain things that go in to a man can defile him. There were certain foods that God prohibited like animals that don't chew the cud, or animals that don't have claws or hooves or a fish that doesn't have fins and scales. The reason God gave those commandments in the Old Covenant was to protect the Old Testament believers physical health. This teaching did not address the heart or forgiveness of sin, it addressed their quality of life. God's goal is that our hearts are won by Him, but He never forces Himself upon us. He desires for this process to be organic and thus real. Instead of giving Him our hearts, we fall into the trap of religion which prompts us to give Him our stuff like our money, time, and interests. Subconsciously we do not allow Him access to the vulnerable spot in our heart. This is where tradition begins, by not being defined by God, and then, we substitute His Word with ours.

All of this leads us to not loving others as we ought. This is what religious people do, they embrace ritual without reality. And, ritualism without reality leads us to the lack of love. Without a personal relationship with God, ritualism profits us nothing; it is just stale old religion that we all disdain. The religious leaders saw not their sins and their subsequent religion. The solution for such hypocrisy though is repentance. We must be careful to embrace God for ourselves. Even though we may be in a relationship with God, we can fall into these religious patterns. Then we end up trying to make it through this life on our own. The answer is to be embraced by God on a daily basis and to be subsequently defined by Him. We are being defined by God when we walk in obedience to His word. And, we will not be perfect at that. So, give up on that idea of somehow earning God's favor and recognize that even our failure factors into the overall plan of God for our lives.

Matthew 15:1-9

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1 Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, 2 "Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread." 3 He answered and said to them, "Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, saying, 'Honor your father and your mother'; and, 'He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.' 5 But you say, 'Whoever says to his father or mother, whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God—6 then he need not honor his father or mother.' Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. 7 Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: 8 'These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. 9 And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'" ~ Matthew 15:1-9

Today, we transition into Matthew 15 where the Lord Jesus gets a visit from the Jewish religious leaders from Jerusalem who had traveled some 90 miles to confront Him. They were worried because His popularity with the people was growing at a rapid pace. They came to find a way to minimize the Lord because He was a threat to their religion. They were in danger of losing their power and control over the people. According to them the Lord Jesus and His disciples were not religious enough.

In v.1-2 of today's passage we read, "1 Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, 2 'Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.'"

When the religious leaders saw that the disciples didn't honor the traditions of the elders by washing their hands in the prescribed ceremonial way, they confronted the Lord Jesus in hopes of turning the people against Him. They taught that the people had to hold their hands out, with palms up, hands cupped slightly, and pour the water over them. Then the fist of the other hand was to be used to scrub the other. This would have been done exactly and specifically with both hands. Then the hands again were held out, with palms down, and water was poured over them a second time to cleanse away the dirty water from the cleansed hands. Only then would a person's hands be ceremonially clean and to deviate from it would be sin according to the religious leaders. 

The washing of the hands given by God in the Old Testament was a practice only meant for the priests while they ministered in the Temple. Later, the religious leaders expanded this practice to the common man so that he would wash his hands before a meal. At that moment cleanliness was elevated over godliness. The religious leaders had made it about the people's performance. They had lost sight of the fact that the message of salvation is the same throughout the Bible. Salvation or forgiveness of sin is a free gift from God for all willing enough to believe it and to receive it. It has always been about the object of our faith which is the God of the Bible, not us. 

In v.3-6 of today's passage we read, "3 He answered and said to them, 'Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, saying, "Honor your father and your mother;" and, "He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death." 5 But you say, "Whoever says to his father or mother, 'Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God"— 6 then he need not honor his father or mother.' Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition."

The religious leaders of Israel had put their traditions over the commandments of God. Their silly rules didn’t aid anyone at obeying God. Their traditions actually steered the people away from God. The fifth command is that we honor our parents. Violating it was, according to God’s law, punishable by death. But, the religious leaders of Israel had invented another tradition which created a loophole to get out of obeying the fifth command. They had created a practice which allowed them to take money or property and declare it as set aside for the Lord. But they treated it like a tax-sheltered investment. Sadly, it wasn’t the government they were protecting the funds from but from their own parents. If their parents had a need, they could avoid meeting the need because their money was devoted to God. As a result, for the sake of their tradition they avoided obeying the word of God.

In v.7-9 of today's passage we read, "7 Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: 8 'These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. 9 And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men."

The Lord Jesus offended the religious leaders by not following their rules and rituals. Using Isaiah 29:13, the Lord Jesus highlighted the result of tradition not rooted in the Word of God. He called it hypocrisy. Twenty-three times in the Gospels the Lord Jesus used this word. Twenty-one of the twenty-three times He spoke it to the religious leaders. He reserved that scathing term for religious, legalistic folk. The Greek word used in the New Testament for "hypocrites" describes actors on a stage. They wore masks and they played their parts but they really weren't what they projected; they were actors. 

The remedy for hypocrisy is worship. Prayer is when we are preoccupied with our needs. Praise is when we are preoccupied with our blessings. Worship is when we are preoccupied with our God. Worship is ascribing worth to something or someone. It is authentic and it comes from the heart. And, it has been etched upon our hearts to worship God alone. As a result, when we worship Him, we will find ourselves being defined by Him, because what we worship defines us.

Hypocrisy ignores the word of God. The Greek word used here for "tradition" is the word for "substitution." And the substitute is always something "good." We would never think of offering God something bad! Yet, if it is not defined by Him as worship, it is not true worship. Much of what we call worship today would not be defined by God as worship. We are defined by what we worship rather than primarily by what they think, know, or even believe. We are what we love.

Worship is the response of the heart to the knowledge of the mind when the mind is rightly understanding and valuing God. Our worship of God is conditioned by the way we understand Him. And, if our understanding isn't framed up by His Word, we will lack proper worship of Him. The more we know Him, the more varied will be the ways that we will worship Him. Thus, our worship should increase with the growth of our understanding of God.

Matthew 14:34-36

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34 When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret. 35 And when the men of that place recognized Him, they sent out into all that surrounding region, brought to Him all who were sick, 36 and begged Him that they might only touch the hem of His garment. And as many as touched it were made perfectly well. ~ Matthew 14:34-36

Today, we close out our study of Matthew 14 where we have witnessed the beheading of John the Baptist, the feeding of the 5000, and the Lord Jesus walking on the water and calming the winds and the waves of the storm. This chapter presents a clear contrast between the earthly power of men and the divine power of the Lord Jesus Christ. This chapter reveals the power of the Lord Jesus and we are shocked at it because it is not about domination or control, but about compassion, provision, and salvation.

In v.34 of today's passage we read, "When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret."

After the feeding of the 5,000 the Lord Jesus reached the peak of His popularity. The people, even the disciples, wanted to anoint Him as king. But He rejected their political and economic definition of a kingdom. It was at that point that the Lord Jesus and His disciples crossed over the Sea of Galilee and arrived in the land of Gennesaret which is not a town, it is a plain that is located on the northwestern coast of the Sea of Galilee. The Gennesaret was a lush land with many different types of crops. It had four springs which watered the entire area. It was a beautiful area due to its rich soil. It provided the picture of the life of the believer who walks with God. In keeping with the previous miracle, Gennesaret was a small little piece of land that yielded a lot. Humble beginnings very often lead to great results. When the Lord Jesus takes control of a life, the results are potentially huge.

Thomas Merton once said, "Our Christian destiny is, in fact, a great one: but we cannot achieve greatness unless we lose all interest in being great." For our own idea of greatness is illusory, and if we pay too much attention to it we will be lured out of the peace and stability of the being God gave us, and seek to live in a myth we have created for ourselves. And when we are truly ourselves we lose most of the futile self-consciousness that keeps us constantly comparing ourselves with others in order to see how big we are."

In v.35-36 of today's passage we read, "35 And when the men of that place recognized Him, they sent out into all that surrounding region, brought to Him all who were sick, 36 and begged Him that they might only touch the hem of His garment. And as many as touched it were made perfectly well."

The people in the area of the Gennesaret provided a contrast to the people of Nazareth who lived in unbelief. Once the people of the Gennesaret saw the Lord Jesus and they recognized Him, they immediately ran and brought their sick to Him and He healed them. These people believed in Him. In contrast, due to their unbelief, the Lord Jesus did no mighty works in certain places like Nazareth. Our faith is only as good as its object. In the Bible we are clearly given two foundations upon which we should build our faith. The first foundation is the Bible. In Romans 10:17 we read, "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." The second foundation of our faith in the God of the Bible is the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. In 1 Corinthians 15:13-14 we read, "13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. 14 And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty." Without His resurrection we would have no salvation from sin, and no hope for the future.

Everyone in the area of the Gennesaret who were sick were brought to the Lord Jesus who then healed them. Previously, the Lord Jesus had traveled there and had healed many. The people were so confident of the power of the Lord Jesus they thought to themselves that if they just touched His hem they would be healed. Perhaps they had remembered the woman who grabbed His robe and was healed.

What the Lord encountered at Gennesaret were those who were convinced of their need for Him. That is exactly why they sought Him out. On the contrary, those who see not their need for the Lord, they have no regard for Him. Pride inaugurated sin and we see it over and over in the Scriptures. It is most often the small, the humble who seek the Lord. Humility is the bedfellow of true belief. Without a proper understanding who we are as sinners and what has happened to us at the hands of the evil one, we will never turn to the Lord for help. 

I heard it again today, "What about those who have never heard?" That is a bogus question. You see, God created us all with a conscience and He has given us a lot of evidence of His existence through creation. We all have had the same experiences when we have laid our head on the pillow at the end of another day. We know there is the God who has reached out to help us so many times. Our problem is we like the way of sin and it is our inability to turn away from our sin that keeps us from Him.

Matthew 14:25-33

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25 Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. 26 And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out for fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid." 28 And Peter answered Him and said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." 29 So He said, "Come." And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. 30 But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!" 31 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, "Truly You are the Son of God." ~ Matthew 14:25-33

Today, we return to our study of Matthew 14 where the Lord Jesus has just fed 5000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish. After performing this miracle, His greatest miracle, the Lord Jesus sent His disciples to Capernaum by way of a boat on the Sea of Galilee. The word "immediately" is used several times in this chapter. While out in the boat the disciples encountered the most intense storm. In fact, it was so intense they thought they were going to die. The Lord did not immediately calm the storm, He let it do its thing in order to reveal a great lesson to His followers. He had to, otherwise they would not have seen the fact that He is Lord over even the storms.

In v.25-26 of today's passage we read, "25 Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. 26 And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out for fear."

Right on the heels of yet another miracle performed by the Lord Jesus, the disciples found themselves in yet another intense trial. This test, like all of our trials, was designed of the Lord to deepen the disciples intimacy with Him. At the beginning of the storm He was not with them because He had gone up into the hills to pray. The storm arrived when the disciples were at the most vulnerable spot on the lake, out in the middle. And, as the storm blew in, at the darkest moment in the night, the Lord Jesus came to them walking on the water.  When the disciples saw what they thought was a ghost their fear increased. We miss out on much that God has for us because He, in our view, is often smaller than our storms. To see Him most clearly we must avail ourselves to the risks of our storms. To be put in the vulnerable place is a must in any relationship if we are to grow deeper and closer through them.

In v.27 of today's passage we read, "But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.'"

"Immediately" the Lord Jesus spoke at just at the right time. The timing of the Lord is always perfect. When we pull ourselves away from the storm to focus on Him, it is then that we see His genius. The Lord Jesus could have prevented the storm, but the disciples would not have been positioned through the storm to see the Lord as they did. The Lord Jesus desired to develop in His disciples a godly courage that is fed by trust, concluding that without Him they could do nothing.

The command, "Do not be afraid," was uttered because the anxiety level for the disciples was flooding their existence. Faith has the potential to grow in the context of the greatest amount of anxiety. Fear is a debilitating disposition compounded by the uncertainty of darkness and the lack of any control in our circumstances. It is in these contexts that our minds make the largest leaps and we find ourselves entertaining the most bizarre of possibilities. But, we must be led to these moments in order for us to see the bigness of our God. We discover in these moments that we are granted best to see God with our hearts. This does not happen without the confrontation of our fears. 

In v.28-30 of today's passage we read, "28 And Peter answered Him and said, 'Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.' 29 So He said, 'Come.' And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. 30 But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, 'Lord, save me!'"

The Lord Jesus came walking to the disciples through the very thing they feared the most, the storm. Back in 2019 my middle son went into cardiac failure three times in one night. This was without a doubt one of my greatest fears. I was not prepared for what happened. But, eight days later, my son walked out of the hospital in his own power. The number eight is the number for new beginnings and boy has that come to fruition. I have seen especially great growth in the whole family in reference to our walk with the Lord Jesus. This is what happens when God confronts our greatest fears and we lay hold of the faith that He grants. 

Initially, the disciples did not recognize the Lord, underscoring how intense that storm was that night. It was not until they heard the voice of the Lord Jesus that they recognized Him. To that point, they were fearful because they depended solely on what they saw with their eyes. When the Lord Jesus spoke they recognized His voice. In His teaching He had said to them, "My sheep hear my voice and they follow me." The key is to learn to hear His voice which will always correspond with His word, the Bible. When we spend much time in His word with Him, we will grow in our ability to hear His voice with our hearts. 

One would think that the safest place during that storm was in the boat, but Peter had a different outlook on it. He decided the safest place for him was with the Lord Jesus. So, he left the safety of the boat. Peter walked on water as long as he kept his eyes on the Lord. But when he looked away he started to sink which prompted him to pray, "Lord save me!" Peter prayed when his circumstances were most dangerous. It is never too late to cry out to God, in fact prayer is the most important thing we do in a day. Peter's prayer reminds me of Jonah. From all appearances, it looked pretty hopeless for Jonah from the depths of the belly of the great fish. Choking on seaweed, one would think that praying time was over for Jonah. But, Jonah decided that it was never too late to pray. And, so he prayed and the Lord did the miraculous. Most often God does not respond in concert with our prayers but when He does, He does so because we asked Him. He requires that we ask so that our hearts will be engaged.

In v.31 of today's passage we read, "And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, 'O you of little faith, why did you doubt?'"

There is that word again, "immediately." That night on that dark sea, the disciples after having concluded that the Lord Jesus was a ghost, eventually saw Him walking on the water. Their doubt was necessary because through their failure they learned their doubt was the shadow cast by their faith. And, their faith was bolstered because the Lord not only won the day, He won a little more of His disciples hearts. This is how the Lord Jesus works in our lives, as He trains our hearts to see Him more deeply and more devotedly. He has to allow us to be taken over by our fear for some measure of time before He can demonstrate that He is Lord even over our fears.

In v.32-33 of today's passage we read, "32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, 'Truly You are the Son of God.'"

When the Lord Jesus got into the boat the disciples eyes were opened in a new way. They concluded yet again that the Lord Jesus is God. Trusting in Him is never a mistake because He uses every ounce of our pain to develop our heart's ability to see Him. And, the nice thing about our trials is they don't last forever. For the disciples the storm stopped, even the waves stopped according to the other gospels. More importantly, after the trial was over, the disciples were once again with the Lord. This is the key to life, not that He is with us but that we recognize that He is with us. This makes all the difference for us as we learn to abide in Him daily.

The only cure for our brokenness is our ability to worship this God who lacks nothing and who has promised to supply all our needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus. It is on this basis of His promises in the context of our trials that this process happens. We must be in the habit of trusting Him and watching Him as He works in our lives on a daily basis. And, as a result, we will discover that He is granting us the ability to trust Him in an increasing way with our hearts.

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.