Bible Reading Reflection from Matthew 8-14

 [Originally posted in a WhatsApp group (LRAU) as a daily reading update (reflection) from each chapter of the Bible]

𝕄𝔸𝕋𝕋ℍ𝔼𝕎 𝟠:𝟛𝟜

"And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw Him, they pleaded with Him to leave their region."

I think what they did was obvious. That's how sinners respond. Even Peter asked Jesus to depart from his boat. Of course, Peter's reaction was because of holy fear. And this crowd's reaction must be a sinful one.

But, when God chooses to display His power and glory, the whole earth will be in silence. Even the atheist will confess Jesus is Lord on the day of His revelation!

 

𝕄𝔸𝕋𝕋ℍ𝔼𝕎 𝟡:𝟛𝟞-𝟛𝟠

“And seeing the crowds, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and downcast like sheep without a shepherd. Then He *said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.’”

Jesus was compassionate. What did he do? He asked us to pray for more workers. What do our present-day missionaries and Christian leaders do? They try to set up schools and hospitals and orphanages and NGOs, and raise a lot of funds, enjoy the money, and oftentimes administrated those setups in an unchristian manner, and often overtaken by non-Christian in the end.

Prayer. That you and I can do. And that's what Christ asked of us.

Christ is God. He could have distributed food for them, right? He didn't. Btw, twice He fed the multitudes but that was because they were with Him for hours and hours and literally were hungry. [I don't mind serving food after the church service].

And btw, even that episode, Christ regretted it.  He ran away. When He was found. Christ indicted them that they sought after food and not Him. It looks unkindly of Christ to say that a hungry crowd wants food, what would a hungry man want than food, of course? But the matter is clear: Gospel, Salvation is more important than food. True compassion is not philanthropic work but the preaching of the Gospel.

Jesus didn't send out His disciples to do philanthropic works, nor did He come into the world to help the poor or heal the sick, He came to call sinners to repentance. All other things He did are to confirm who He is and what His mission was. Or else, Jesus failed His ministry.

 

𝕄𝔸𝕋𝕋ℍ𝔼𝕎 𝟙𝟘:𝟙𝟜, 𝟙𝟝, 𝟚𝟛

“And whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you leave that house or that city, shake the dust off your feet. Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city.”

“But whenever they persecute you in this city, flee to the next; for truly I say to you, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel until the Son of Man comes."

Interesting commandments from Jesus. Not to keep ploughing in a barren field. And to move to another field. God cuts away the branches that do not bear fruits. And He grafted the Gentiles to the vine.

Hmmm! Think about that. Even we, I think, should dissociate [WhatsApp group] after we finish the book of Matthew if we cannot discipline ourselves even in the basic characteristics of a Christian’s life, that also under oath for a short season.

 

𝕄𝔸𝕋𝕋ℍ𝔼𝕎 𝟙𝟙:𝟚𝟠-𝟛𝟘

"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.

Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

Many remember only v28, which sounds very nice. However, there's v29, which says that we must take His yoke. There's no freedom to live as we like. We are freed from Satan's yoke to live under Christ's yoke. It's an exchange of yoke. It's a change of a Master: we were slaves to Satan, sin, wrath, and consequences; now we are slaves to Christ.

v30 reveals further that there's a burden for each of us to carry. It's called a “burden,” not a blessing. Paul speaks of that in Gal. 6:1-5 too. Well, we all know, it's the Master that matters. When the master is bad, all hell breaks loose. When the Master is good, it's heaven on earth.

 

𝕄𝔸𝕋𝕋ℍ𝔼𝕎 𝟙𝟚:𝟛𝟘

"He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters."

There's no neutral side. Either with Jesus or with Satan. You worship God or Satan. You follow God or Satan. Your allegiance is to Christ or Satan. You are influenced by God or Satan. You serve Christ or Satan. You submit to God or Satan.

Man is not his own master. Man is a slave to Christ or Satan.

Interesting statement from Christ. If you aren't gathering for Christ you are scattering.

 

𝕄𝔸𝕋𝕋ℍ𝔼𝕎 𝟙𝟛:𝟙𝟘-𝟙𝟙

“And the disciples came and said to Him, ‘Why do You speak to them in parables?’ And Jesus answered and said to them, ‘To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.’”

Same world. Same evidence. Some people believe there's God, others did not. As we study nature deeper, some believe in God more firmly, and others deny it more strongly.

And this passage tells us that it's God who chooses to pass them over. It's God who allows them to be blinded as ever. And it's God who chooses to reveal to us, who gives a mind to believe and a heart to put our trust in Him.

Glory be to God! Amen!

 

𝕄𝔸𝕋𝕋ℍ𝔼𝕎 𝟙𝟜:𝟚𝟠-𝟚𝟡

"And Peter answered and said to Him, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” And He said, “Come!” And getting out of the boat, Peter walked on the water and came toward Jesus."

Peter would rather do something crazy than sit in the boat facing the wind against them. Was Peter selfish in asking Jesus to let him escape the capsizing of their boat?

Why didn't he ask Jesus to calm the storm to save all of them than to let him walk on the water? I don't know, but Peter would rather have a crazy walk with Christ than be in a boat about to sink.