Have Mercy!

N.T.#103 "Have Mercy!"

June 30, 2023

Matthew 9-Part 11

LET IT GLOW

After Jesus raised the daughter of the synagogue ruler, He had earned a breather and probably returned to Peter's house for some R & R. But that wasn't going to happen. Probably there were 2 blind men sitting along the road begging. Maybe they heard about Jesus raising the 12-year-old girl from the dead. This was their chance fo see again, as Jesus passed by them.

Verse 27 tells us two blind men followed Him, crying out for mercy from Jesus. They declared Jesus to be the son of David, the Messiah. 

Did you notice that nothing happened until Jesus got inside the house? He did not do healings for a show. Jesus intended to heal those two with just a handful of folks present. The blind men barged right in the house without knocking. But first, Jesus asked them if they believed He was able to do it. (verse 28)

When Jesus touched the eyes of the men, He said, According to your faith be it done unto you. (verse 29)

If the men had only half-hearted faith, then they probably would have only been healed in one eye-my thoughts. However, their faith was sufficient for Jesus to completely heal their blindness. We are not told how long those men longed to see. The first thing they saw was the face of Jesus. It doesn't get any better! One day we will all see Jesus face to face. Are you prepared? 

Jesus charged the men to keep quiet about seeing. How could someone do that? What a miracle for them! Well, Jesus might as well put a sign on the door, "The Healer is in," or a receptionist shouting, "Next." Jesus fame was spread throughout the country. 

[Resource: Swindoll's Living Insights on Matthew]

Who do you say Jesus is?

LET IT GROW

The prophet Isaiah had lots to say about the Messiah, the King who was to come. He would be a descendant of David (stump of Jesse), Isaiah 11:1. He would bring healing (open eyes), Isaiah 42:7. These men, recognizing Jesus as the Messiah, knew what Jesus could do. (Evans)

Jesus did not enquire if the men were wealth, able to pay Him for healing them. He was not concerned with their reputation or possession in society. No, it was their faith. Jesus can see our faith, knows about it, and is well pleased with whole-hearted faith in Him.

Has Jesus opened your spiritual eyes? Do you we Him working around you? Can we see the needs of others?

LET IT GO 

Our God is bigger than our problems. He can see us through it.

Have mercy on us sinners, Jesus, so we are not punished for our sins.

Please give sinners faith enough so they seek You as their Savior today.

Do You Need Lifting Up?

N.T.#102 "Do You Need Lifting Up?"

June 29, 2023

Matthew 9-Part 10

LET IT GLOW

Do you need to be lifted up today? Is life dragging you down? Read on about a girl that Jesus lifted up. He can do it for you, too. 

So far in this chapter we have read about Jesus healing the paralytic, and the woman with the issue of blood. We left Jesus and His disciples on their way to Jarius' house to heal his daughter (actually raise her from the dead). However, along the way He encountered a woman of faith, who suffered 12 years. It was her faith that made her well, delivered of that awful suffering. She believed if she only touched the hem of Jesus' garment that she would be healed. Now is that faith at the max or what!

by the time Jesus, His followers, and the father, who was a ruler of the synagogue, arrived at the man's house, his daughter was dead. 

He said unto them, Give place for the maid is not dead but sleepeth. And they laughed Him to scorn. (verse 24)

There were professional mourners with funeral music at the house, standing in the way. Jesus told them to leave, for the girl wasn't dead, but asleep. Everyone knew the girl was really dead. It wasn't the family members who laughed at Jesus, but those hired to mourn. (Jeremiah 9:17)

By saying the girl was only asleep, Jesus boldly affirmed that her condition was temporary. After the noise left, Jesus took the girl by the hand and lifted her from the bed, very much alive. Although the room had been cleared of people, news of this miracle spread everywhere. (verse 26) (Swindoll)

LET IT GROW

This father was a highly respected, capable, and popular man in the religious world, and with great power, too. He oversaw the administration of the synagogue. He determined who taught in worship and supervised the whole operation. Quite an important man in his community!

Yet this father loved his daughter so much that he risked his position to get her healing. Jesus was his only hope in a hopeless situation. He was humbled as the father fell down at Jesus' feet and worshiped Him. Luke 8:41)

What can we learn for this passage?

• We must believe Jesus can meet our most desperate need.
• He can give hope to the hopeless and help to the helpless.
• Jesus' touch can raise us up from...
• Even when people scoff at us, He can do kingdom work through us.
• May our heart reach out to Jesus, for He is reaching our to us.

Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass. (Ps. 37:5)

LET IT GO

Lord Jesus, You can do the impossible.

Give us strength to carry on Your kingdom work.

Grow our faith.

Lift us above our problems and challenges today. 

Raise us up so we can stand on mountains, walk on stormy seas of life.

Raise us up to be more than I can be.

Faith, Seeking, Touching, Healing

N.T.#101 "Faith, Seeking, Touching, Healing"

June 28, 2023

Matthew 9-Part 9

LET IT GLOW

Old bottles were not strong enough to contain the new wind, illustrating that Christ brings new life to a believer. We need the old time religion where Jesus is the only way to heaven, the Only Savior, cleanses a dirty heart of sin and makes it new.

Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.  (2 Cor. 5:17)

We need the Bible upheld as Truth, not new ways or new methods to peace and love, but that which only Jesus can give. No substitutes here. Only Jesus paid the price for us, so we can be set free from the bondage of sin. Have you been freed yet?

Next, we read of 4 healings as others request it on the behalf of others. With no chance to even catch His breath, Jesus was approached by a leader of the synagogue of Capernaum, Jairus. The man bowed before Jesus and begged Him to come to his home to lay His hand on his daughter who had just died. His faith believed Jesus could restore the 12-year-old girl to life. It was a a cry for hope and help by a father. So Jesus and His followers went immediately to the man's house.

LET IT GROW

Yet, while on their way to the man's house, a woman in the crowd approached Jesus. She had a 12 year old problem-hemorrhaging for such a long time. If only she could touch the hem of His garment, she would be made well.  She would have been considered unclean so the woman did not want to touch Jesus, thus causing Him to be ritually impure. So she simply touched the hem of His garment. There was no way Jesus could have felt her touch his outer robe, the tassels hanging on it, surrounded by people. Yet, her faith touched Him as power and life transferred to the woman. 

Virtue left Jesus. Virtue (dunamis, doo'nam'is) means  miraculous power; strength. 

(We get our word dynamite from this Greek word.) 

Jesus turned to the woman, saw the woman, adopted the woman, and made here whole. He saw the sick woman's desperation and need, along with her faith. Jesus asked who touched His clothes. Jesus knew a miracle took place. (The woman received healing.) Don't you think the answer was quite obvious; a woman kneeling down, behind Jesus? 

What did this woman do? She told Jesus all the truth, with fear and trembling.

What did Jesus say? In Mark 5:34, "Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.

Wait a minute. The woman was healed before she told Jesus her problem. Did you notice that? New to me. I knew it, but did not realize the sequence until now, the importance. The woman was not rebuked, but adopted into God's family as a daughter. She was made new-body and soul.

Are you in need today of being made whole, friend? Come to Jesus by touching His heart with your faith in Him.

LET IT GO 

But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6)

Are you seeking the Savior?

New Ways

 N.T.#100 "New Ways"

June 27, 2023

Matthew 9-Part 8

LET IT GLOW

Have you ever been criticized for going good? It is hard to swallow, I know. But look how the Pharisees criticized Jesus and His followers for their good deeds. 

First, they complained that He was eating with publicans (tax collectors) and sinners. Jesus came to show sinners they needed a Savior, and that is who He is. He calls sinners to repentance, admitting they sin and ask for forgiveness. If He avoided those men, how could they find a cure for their spiritual sickness-sin? The Pharisees certainly were not going to provide it.

But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins. (verse 6a)

Jesus had just healed the crippled man and they accused Him of blaspheming, of which He was not. Jesus is the Son of God, the Lamb of God that takes away our sins. 

On the other hand, Jesus was gaining numbers of followers and believers. The Pharisees were loosing their influence and domain. Do you know any church members like that? when new folks come into the church, are they welcomed or do those in power feel threatened of loosing their influence? It happens. People loose their focus on Jesus and place it on things.

LET IT GROW

Secondly, the disciples of John the Baptist criticized Jesus because His followers did not fast. Why should they have fasted when they had Emanuel, God with us, among them? Jesus was teaching them God's will (recall the Sermon on the Mount). He was showing them God's ways (mercy, compassion, forgiveness). 

Jesus gave some analogies concerning their circumstances:

1. The wedding guests are happy while the bridegroom is with them. It is when he is taken away that they fast. So it is with the Lord; while He was with His disciples and believing followers, they rejoiced. The time came when His death took Him away and they mourned.
2. A new cloth is not put on an old garment with a hole in it. The new cloth will shrink and rip a bigger hole than was had to begin with. 
3. New wine fermented and would break old skins or bottles as it expanded, so they did not put new wine in old bottles, but used new ones. 

The old religious system of Judaism with its rules and traditions are replaced by the new message of Jesus Christ. Through faith, Jesus cleanses the sinful heart, forgives sins, and reconciles us with God. Mercy and grace are the new ways He provides for us. 

Are we, as followers of Christ, prepared for new ways to live, new ways to look at people, and new ways to serve? 

LET IT GO

Change my heart O God, make it ever true. change my heart O God, may I be like You.

Sacrifice, Obedience, and a Wedding

N.T.#99 "Sacrifice, Obedience, and a Wedding"

June 26, 2023

Matthew 9-Part 7

But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. (verse 13)

LET IT GLOW

Shall we take a step back and do as Jesus told the Pharisees-learn what Jesus' statement above means? God says many times that He doesn't want our gifts and sacrifices when we give them out of ritual or hypocrisy. If a person's heart is far from God, then sacrifices will become a ritual that is empty mockery. God wants us first to love and obey Him. 

Life Application Study Bible gives us some verses concerning this matter. Instead of sacrifices, what pleases God?

• Obedience is better than sacrifice. (1 Sam. 15:22-23)
• God wants us to take joy and delight in doing His will. (Ps. 40:6-8)
• He wants the broken and repentant heart. (Ps. 51:16-19)
• God desires our obedience and promises that He will be our God and we will be His people. (Hosea 6:6)
• God hates pretense and hypocrisy, for He wants to see justice flow like water. (Amos 5:21-24)
• He wants us to act justly, love mercy (faithfulness), and walk humbly with our God. (Micah 6:6-8)
• God wants us to be merciful. (Matthew 9:13) 

When religious rituals replace our relationship with God, then we are going down the wrong path. However, religious rituals, as baptism and the Lord's Supper can be carried out with an attitude of love for and obedience to God. (Tithing is a heart matter which shows we love God more than money. We trust Him to provide for us. It is an act of obedience rather than a ritual.)

Why do we go to worship services? What is our motive behind our offerings and sacrifices?

Like Matthew, we must decide to leave behind those things that would keep us from fully following Christ.

LET IT GROW

Then a different group confronts Jesus, the disciples of John the Baptist, with a question. (verse 14) Why don't your disciples fast like John's disciples and the Pharisees do? He answered it like this:

Wedding guests do not fast while celebrating with the groom. They can't fast while he is with them. But someday the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast. In other words, celebrate and be happy, for one day, the church will become the bride of Christ at the Marriage of the Lamb. (Rev. 19)

Are you going to be with us in heaven, dear one? Is your soul washed with the precious blood of Jesus? Have you joined with other believers in Jesus in a church?

LET IT GO

What a day that will be, when my Jesus I shall see. And I look upon His face, the One who saved me by His grace. And He takes me by the hand and leads me through the Promised Land. What a day, glorious day that will be!

There is coming a day for all of us, when stand before Holy Jesus, our Judge. Are you ready? 

 N.T.#98 "Eating With Sinners"

June 23, 2023

Matthew 9-Part 6

LET IT GLOW

Matthew seems modestly passing over his calling to follow Jesus in verse 7. As the two walked and talked, I can see Matthew inviting Jesus and His followers to a great dinner in honor of Jesus and inviting his publican friends so they could know Jesus, too. Can you imagine sitting there, listening to the Messiah, learning great truths from Him, finding grace and mercy?

When good things are going on, there is usually critics around to try to tear down what is built up. So was the case at Matthew's house. Some Pharisees asked Jesus' disciples why He as eating with sinners. (As though they wear above tax collectors and others. They were sinners, too.) 

As Christians, we need to remain humble. Let's not remain in our little groups at church, but expand, reach out to others. Try not to freeze them out of our fellowship, as McGee put it. Jesus has plenty of love to go around.

LET IT GROW

Oh boy, Jesus heard that comment. 

But when Jesus heard that, He said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.  (verse 12)

Jesus is the Great Physician. He came to earth in order to heal mankind of their basic problem-sin.  In verse 13, Jesus challenged folks to go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. 

How could the tax collectors and sinners ever get the spiritual therapy they needed if the One with the cure avoided them? Jesus cared enough to reach out to the sick with a cure and compassion.

Are we showing compassion through grace, mercy, and love far more than sacrifice? Jesus gave a homework assignment to the Pharisees. Jesus' heart went out to those who lived in the muck and mire of shame and disgrace.

When Jesus comes to speak to our heart, He is eating with a sinner-you and me. When we study His Word, He speaks to us who fall short daily. Yet, the Savior forgives us, over and over again.

LET IT GO

Thank You Jesus that You invite us to dine at your table-the Holy Bible.

You feed our souls with so much!

What an Awesome God we serve!

An Unexpected Man With a Purpose

N.T.#97 "An Unexpected Man With a Purpose"

June 22, 2023

Matthew 9-Part 5

LET IT GLOW

You know Matthew must have been one whom people did not expect to be used by God to share His love and Truth. A hated tax collector. Yet...

We can see the results of Matthew coming to Jesus. This wealth tax collector let his flourishing job to follow the Savior. so he wasn't a blue-collar fisherman like John; not a sophisticated, white-collar physician like Luke; and not a young hanger-on like Mark. No doubt he had heard the stories of Jesus' words and deeds. The Holy Spirit must have already been prodding Matthew's conscience. (Swindoll)

How do I know this greedy man, Matthew, had a change of heart? For one thing, Matthew became a disciple of Jesus and wrote the first of the four Gospels in the New Testament. Such grace and mercy for this man! Yes, Matthew left everything but his pen. He recognized Jesus as the long-awaited King of Israel, the Promised Messiah. Matthew wrote over 65 references to the Old Testament.

Does the Word of God change our heart? Is it something we can live by, count on, draw closer to God?

Jesus can use anyone to bring His message to the hurting, downtrodden.

LET IT GROW

Secondly, Matthew had a great feast. He opened his large home to his sinful friends and officials in the Jewish community, bringing them to the Savior. (Luke 5:29) 

What can we learn from Matthew's example?

• Jesus went to where sinners were, seeking them.
• Sinners felt comfortable around Him.
• Jesus had meals with sinners, immoral people who society and the religious rejected and avoided.
• Jesus and sinners were great friends.                                                                                                 I am not advocating that we go to their drinking and drug parties. However, at work we can talk with the lost, ask them what is happening in their life, give them hope-Jesus. We lift them up, not judging and condemning. (The Holy Spirit does that.) We love them with the love of Jesus, help meet needs, invite them to activities of the church. There have been parents reached through their children as the attend VBS in the summer. That is my mission. This is my fifth year as director. My husband got saved during VBS a long time ago, when he was a 12 year-old, barefoot boy in the country.

LET IT GO

Thank you Jesus that You love this little gray-haired grandma living on a country road.

Praise be to Jesus for saving us from the punishment of sins!

Glory to God on high!

Use us as Your witness today!