Sharing Bread Matthew 19:23-26

SHARING BREAD

²³ Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. ²⁴ Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

²⁵ When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”

²⁶ Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Matt 19:23-26 (NIV)

What, Whom or whom are we trusting in for our salvation?  What, whom or whom are we turning to for rescue to save our scrawny necks?    Is it money, works, power, prestige or people?  Is it anything created rather than the Creator?  If so, big mistake baby-cakes!  Jesus tells us:

⁶ Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ⁷ If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”   John 14:6-7 (NIV)

Peter also clearly states in Acts:

¹² “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”   Acts 4:12 (NIV)

 

Paul also writes in 1Timothy:

 

⁵ For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, ⁶ who gave himself as a ransom for all men--the testimony given in its proper time. ⁷ And for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle--I am telling the truth, I am not lying--and a teacher of the true faith to the Gentiles.   1 Tim 2:5-7 (NIV)

“Is it not wonderful news to believe that salvation lies outside ourselves?”   Martin Luther

Jesus is the Way because He is the Truth and the Life.  Contrary to what many people may think, clearly Scripture states only one way to the Father exists.  Jesus stressed salvation was not obtainable through a myriad of ways – it was and is through faith alone in Christ alone and His saving work on the cross on our behalf. 

⁷ In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace ⁸ that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.   Eph 1:7-8 (NIV)

The way to heaven for all is a narrow way and through a small gate.  People possessing large quantities of money, power, talents, knowledge, acceptance or whatever, have a greater tendency to place their trust in these things.  It is hard not to be charmed and mesmerized by a smiling and lauding world.  It takes a greater measure of divine grace for people to break through these worldly luxuries albeit heavenly difficulties.  Indeed, it is nothing less than the almighty grace of God enabling the sojourner to do so.  Our Lord rightly compares those with such possessions to a camel – a beast of burden – carrying a heavy load.  Isn’t it true that oftentimes our possessions and talents end up owning us rather than us owning them?

Jesus’ Words were shocking to His guys.  Christ spoke many surprising Truths which often left people wide eyed and mouth opened with astonishment.  His guys always seemed to be shocked or confused over His teachings which should give us all hope! They had been taught by the Pharisees that God bestows wealth on those He loves and now they are questioning who then can be saved.  It is not too dissimilar in our day and age.  We are forever looking at those with many worldly luxuries as having been blessed by God.  This is not all together wrong but it certainly is not always on target either.  The opposite is true as well - just because someone is without the world’s prosperity or popularity does not make them in God’s favor or out of God’s favor.  What does matter in either case is that person’s relationship with Jesus Christ which is the only thing affecting their standing before a Holy God.  Though Jesus states it is hard for the rich man to enter the kingdom of God, it is not impossible.  All things are possible with God.  It is not to be despaired of –since it is possible.  Hallelujah for that!  Nothing is too hard for God.             

“There are such difficulties in the way of our salvation as could never be overcome but by that grace of God which is almighty.  ‘What is impossible with men is possible with God.’ His grace can work on the soul, so as to alter the bent and bias of it, and give it a contrary leaning.”    Matthew Henry

What I glean from this:

·       Jesus is the Way and the Truth and the Life.

·       Large quantities of worldly luxuries and acceptance can be a stumbling block for me.

·       Nothing is too hard for God – Hallelujah!

Sharing Bread Matthew 19:16-22

SHARING BREAD

¹⁶ Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”

¹⁷ “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.”

¹⁸ “Which ones?” the man inquired.

Jesus replied, “‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, ¹⁹ honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’”

²⁰ “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”

²¹ Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

²² When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.

Matt 19:16-22 (NIV)

This encounter between Jesus and the rich young ruler has far more to do about our Delilah’s than our dollars – contrary to what at first blush we might perhaps believe.  Jesus points to what’s on the throne of our lives and our willingness or unwillingness to relinquish our rights of it to the One Who has all rights to that position.  Remember number one of the commandments:

³ “You shall have no other gods before me”.   Ex 20:3 (NIV)

Dollars, people, things, fame, acceptance, work, perfection, family, beauty and on and on are not intrinsically bad rather it is the priority placed upon them by a life which makes them wrong.  Jesus calls us to be “One thing” people and everything else is to fall under Him.  He created us; He knows perfectly well what we need.  I am reminded of His Word to us in the Sermon on the Mount earlier in Matthew:

³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.    Matt 6:31-33 (NIV)

 

I think it interesting to note as well that we are all fully capable of deluding ourselves into thinking our “Delilah’s” are rightful and good allowing us to delve deeper into what is basically idolatry.  The heart is deceitful beyond all cures Scripture tells us.  This rich young ruler is a good example.  He was humble in approaching the Master.  He was apparently earnestly seeking to do what was right.  Yet he misses the covetousness of his own heart and when faced with the realization of it and Jesus’ desire of his release from it, he becomes afflicted with sorrow, distressed and sullen.  He just does not seem to want to let that darling “Delilah” depart - no matter what he had expressed.       

“I know what it’s like to say you’re trying to help someone even though you’re well aware it was really a halfway-decent excuse to satisfy something in yourself.”   Angie Smith

“We sin because our longings are so strong at the operational level—not at the verbal level, where we confess ‘Jesus is Lord’—we feel that something in addition to Jesus is necessary for our happiness and well-being.  We will never find the full freedom promised in the gospel if all we want from Jesus is relief.”  James Wilhoit

Scripture give us some examples of “one thing” people who had their priorities right – God first everything else under that.  This served them well.  David, Mary and Paul come to mind:

David writes in Psalm 27:

⁴ One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.   Psalms 27:4 (NIV)

 

Of Mary it is written:

 

³⁸ As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. ³⁹ She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. ⁴⁰ But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” ⁴¹ “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, ⁴² but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”   Luke 10:38-42 (NIV)

 

Paul writes regarding himself in Philippians:

 

¹² Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. ¹³ Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. ¹⁵ All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you.   Phil 3:12-15 (NIV)

 

“The gift of Christ reveals the Father’s heart.  It testifies that the thoughts of God toward us are ‘thoughts of peace and not of evil’ (Jeremiah 29:11).  It declares that while God’s hatred of sin is as strong as death, His love for the sinner is stronger than death.  Having undertaken our redemption, He will spare nothing, however dear, which is necessary to the completion of His work.  No truth essential to our salvation is withheld, no miracle of mercy is neglected, no divine agency is left unemployed. Favor is heaped upon favor, gift upon gift.  The whole treasury of heaven is open to those He seeks to save.  Having collected the riches of the universe, and laid open the resources of infinite power, He gives them all into the hands of Christ, and says, All these are for man.  Use these gifts to convince him that there is no love greater than Mine in earth or heaven.  His greatest happiness will be found in loving Me” (The Desire of Ages, pg. 57).

 

What I glean from this:

 

·       Jesus is to be on the throne of my life.

·       Everything in my life is to fall under Him.

·       Jesus is my sufficiency, Jesus is my strength.

 

 

 

Sharing Bread Matthew 19:13-15

SHARING BREAD

¹³ Then little children were brought to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked those who brought them.

¹⁴ Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” ¹⁵ When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there.

Matt 19:13-15 (NIV)

The compassion, kindness and gentleness of the Lord Jesus towards the little ones shine forth brightly in our verses for today.  I am reminded of the Apostle Paul’s charge to us in Colossians to manifest these virtues as well.  As dearly loved children of the King, we too are to be as the Master - clothing ourselves with these good and profitable qualities:

¹² Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.   Col 3:12 (NIV)

“Jesus, Thou art all compassion, pure, unbounded love Thou art.”  Charles Wesley

Indeed, these virtues are also included in the listing of the Fruit of the Spirit in Galatians:

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.   Gal 5:22-23 (NIV)

In our verses for today, not driven by any particular need other than the desire for Christ to bless them, we discover those bringing little ones to Jesus for Him to lay hands on them in prayer.  Their actions demonstrating a great respect for Christ as well as showing the high value they placed on His favor and blessing.  Others brought Jesus their children in dire need of healing yet it appears that these sought only His blessing.  It is a good thing to come to the Lord and bring our children before we are driven to Him by a particular need.  I am reminded of Moses’ words in Deuteronomy:

“Let the beloved of the LORD rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the LORD loves rests between his shoulders.”   Deut 33:12 (NIV)

“For the love of God is broader than the measures of man’s mind; and the heart of the Eternal is most wonderfully kind.”   Frederick William Faber

“It is rare that Christians earnestly seek the Lord’s face when things are going swimmingly, when material blessings abound and we seem to be protected from the vicissitudes faced by others.  But in the blackness of discouragement, when we are harassed and downcast, we may indeed turn to the Lord and acknowledge our helplessness apart from his grace; we may do so knowing that God is a compassionate God and that Jesus’ compassion was particularly directed toward the harassed and the helpless.”  D A Carson

 

We cannot do anything better for our children (or ourselves for that matter) than to commit them (and ourselves) to the Lord Jesus to be prayed for, led and helped by Him.  There is no higher ground.  We are to trust in the Lord and His direction – His pleasing and perfect will - as He alone can answer the prayers of the heart as well as fully satisfy all inward longings and desires.  King David writes in Psalm 37:

³ Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. ⁴ Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. ⁵ Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: ⁶ He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.   Psalms 37:3-6 (NIV)

 

We are also told in Proverbs:

⁵ Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; ⁶ in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.  Prov 3:5-6 (NIV)

Wrongly, our Lord’s guys frowned on these actions as worthless and frivolous rebuking those approaching Jesus as being troublesome and a bother.  Christ has more love and compassion in Him than the best of His disciples.  We are never to discourage any well-meaning soul willingly seeking the Lord Jesus as ever being a nuisance to Him.  It displeases Jesus for turning away any soul who seeks Him as He remains ever ready to receive them – from the strongest believer to the weakest child.  

What I glean from this:

·       Jesus is all compassion and love.

·       I am to clothe myself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

·       Jesus never turns any soul away who willingly seeks Him.

 

Sharing Bread Matthew 19:10-12

SHARING BREAD

¹⁰ The disciples said to him, “If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.”

¹¹ Jesus replied, “Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. ¹² For some are eunuchs because they were born that way; others were made that way by men; and others have renounced marriage because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.”

Matt 19:10-12 (NIV)

In a very real sense, our verses for today show the sheer humanity of Jesus’ guys.  Macabre as it may sound - the thought process of their fallen flesh seems to bring some comfort to all who struggle with sin, self and the world as well.  For some strange reason it is nice to know that we are in good company in regard to our fleshly battles.  We are commanded in Scripture to be continually reeling in these fleshly desires that war against our souls – that battle against our best.  This, of course, is for our own good and requires a constant vigilance on our parts as these fleshly desires never really go away.  I think of the Apostle Paul’s words to us in 1 Corinthians regarding his approach to the battle of controlling self:

²⁴ Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. ²⁵ Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. ²⁶ Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. ²⁷ No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.   1 Cor 9:24-27 (NIV)

 

“What is needed is not mere present professions, but perseverance to the end in the power of faith.”    Ignatius of Antioch

Jesus had just finished answering the question posed Him from the Pharisees regarding divorce and the disciple’s appear to have difficulty in swallowing His reply. Corrupt nature is pure impatient with restraint is it not?   It seems they too were reluctant to give up their liberty of divorce handed down from Moses due to the hardness of man’s heart.  If the only acceptable way out of marriage was marital unfaithfulness, His guys spurt out, “it is better not to marry.”  Funny, a good description for Christian marriage could be two big fat sinners - each wanting their own way - living under one roof – seeking to learn how to love each other with the love of Jesus through the power of the Spirit.  Surprise - that may mean we don’t get our own way every time!  Surprise - that may mean we must learn to die to self!  Surprise - that may mean someone else’s needs could come before our own!  This isn’t the stuff Hollywood movies are made of but instead it is the stuff the best marriages are made of. 

It was obvious the Lord Jesus had affirmed the permanence of marriage by His reply because those who had heard His Words understood it in that way, hence their response.  Not too dissimilar to our own time, it appears that marriage was viewed as disposable to these Israelites as well.  When marriage seems to no longer be “working” for us, we want an easy out – one that is embraced by our spheres and our world as well.  We don’t like to feel “bad” about ourselves.  We tend to neglect the covenant we made before God.  Remember anything worth having or worth its salt requires work, resolve and commitment.  We are not to simply flee when things become difficult.  Working through the difficulties with the common goal of sustaining the marriage and bringing God glory through it draws the married couple closer not further apart.    God had established marriage for man’s good as well as His glory.  He had intended for marriage to be a spiritual functional unity between husband and wife whereby they would walk together in integrity, serving God and keeping His commandments together.  Society prospers under God’s Almighty Hand when this harmony is operative.  We find in Genesis:

¹⁸ The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”  Gen 2:18 (NIV)

 

Interestingly, in the above verse the word translated “good” is from the Hebrew word “Tob” meaning:  “Good, pleasant, beautiful, excellent, lovely, delightful, joyful, fruitful, precious, cheerful, kind, correct, righteous; that which is good, right; virtue; happiness, pleasantness; used in the context of seeking for the ultimate purpose in life.”  Hebrew–Greek Key Word Study Bible – Old Testament Lexical Aids.  I don’t know of any married person who wouldn’t like those words to describe their marriage yet it takes work – it does not merely happen.  This is why Jesus ended His statement with:  “The one who can accept this should accept it.”  Meaning, if you hear (understand) this, act on it.

 

“Sanctify yourself and you will sanctify society.”   Francis of Assisi 

What I glean from this:

·       I am commanded in Scripture to reel in fleshly desires.

·       I am not only to profess faith but also to persevere to the end by the power of the Holy Spirit.

·       Marriage is a gift from God but it also includes from me a commitment to work towards its flourishing success through the power of the Spirit.

 

 

              
  

 

Sharing Bread Matthew 19:3-9

SHARING BREAD

³ Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?”

⁴ “Haven't you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ ⁵ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? ⁶ So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”

⁷ “Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?”

⁸ Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. ⁹ I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery.”

Matt 19:3-9 (NIV)

Jesus’ Words certainly shed His pure Light upon our modern day lame and cavalier attitudes and excuses regarding divorce.  Much like the Israelites when our Lord walked this earth, modern day believers oftentimes cling to the same wrong viewpoints regarding this subject.  Indeed, the Prophet Malachi records God’s opinion on divorce for us and His reasoning why.  God affirmed and continues to affirm the permanence of marriage:

¹³ Another thing you do: You flood the LORD's altar with tears. You weep and wail because he no longer pays attention to your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands. ¹⁴ You ask, “Why?” It is because the LORD is acting as the witness between you and the wife of your youth, because you have broken faith with her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant. ¹⁵ Has not [the LORD] made them one? In flesh and spirit they are his. And why one? Because he was seeking godly offspring. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith with the wife of your youth. ¹⁶ “I hate divorce,” says the LORD God of Israel, “and I hate a man's covering himself with violence as well as with his garment,” says the LORD Almighty. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith.   Mal 2:13-16 (NIV)

 

Whatever God intends for the good of mankind, Satan intends to prevent and pervert through sin, self and the world – ever masking around as an angel of light or a roaring lion seeking to devour.  In our verses for today, the Pharisees – we are told – came to test Jesus regarding the subject of divorce not to be taught by Him.  It is funny to me that these religious leaders continually thought the Master could be trapped – silly Pharisees.  In their twisted and tricky thinking they were asking Him what they thought to be a no win question seeking to pit Him between the people’s varying opinions on the subject.  If He had declared against divorce they would have used it to make the people angrily prejudiced against Him as One who attempted to destroy a liberty allowed by Moses which they were quite partial to – their Delilah so to speak.  If the Lord Jesus had embraced divorce “for any and every reason” - even frivolity - they would have then represented His teaching as not containing the perfection that was expected from the Messiah as divorce was looked upon by the strictest sect as disreputable.

 

Jesus gives them an effective reply giving a full albeit not direct answer - ever seeking to make His hearers reason.  He appeals to their remembrance of Scripture.  If God had joined husband and wife in the closest possible union – one flesh – man was not to lightly separate.

 

“Faith is reason at rest in God.”   C. H. Spurgeon

Since Adam and Eve, God had made this union of two to be one in flesh and spirit – for humankind’s good and God’s glory.  God has yoked them together.  The relationship between husband and wife was and is to be closer than the parent and child relationship and surely a child was not to desert his parent nor does a parent abandon their child “for any and every reason”. 

 

The Pharisees then wrongly bring up the Law of Moses as if Moses had commanded divorce rather than merely allowed it due to their hardened hearts – hardened against God and hardened against His ways.  Jesus urges them to go back to the original covenant.  When people make copies of copies corruption inevitably enters in therefore the institution must be examined and corrected against the original which Jesus here sets out to accomplish.  He quiets their duplicitous question with Truth – how like the Master.

 

“The law reflects God’s holiness; it is a plumbline that shows us that we are crooked.”   Erwin Lutzer

Lastly, divorce is not an unpardonable sin.  Where ever this day finds us, we are to begin now.  It’s a fresh start, a clean page in the notebook of life.   His mercies are new every morning.  In humility and repentance we approach Him – and continually approach Him – and He directs our paths and we press on.  The past is over don’t live there; the future is unknown don’t anxiously fret over what may or may not even come about.  Live in the fullness of the present with His Presence.   That is taking hold of life that is truly life.  The Apostle Paul writes:   

 

¹² Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. ¹³ Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. ¹⁵ All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. ¹⁶ Only let us live up to what we have already attained.   Phil 3:12-16 (NIV)

 

What I glean from this:

 

·       There is no tricking God.

·       God has a plan and I am the loser if I do not abide by it.

·       God’s Word shows me my faults.

 

 

 

Sharing Bread Matthew 19:1-2

SHARING BREAD

¹ When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went into the region of Judea to the other side of the Jordan. ² Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.

Matt 19:1-2 (NIV)

In our verses for today, we once again see the Lord Jesus being followed by throngs of needy people - ever hoping for a healing touch from the great Physician.  Aren’t we all needy apart from the Lord Jesus?  Sadly, some people simply fail to realize this Truth. Jesus looked with eyes of compassion upon all – not simply the physically infirmed - as being harassed and helpless as sheep without a shepherd.  Indeed the harvest was and is plentiful:

³⁵ Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. ³⁶ When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. ³⁷ Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. ³⁸ Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”   Matt 9:35-38 (NIV)

 

“It is shocking to reflect that a change in the weather has more effect on some men's lives than the dread alternative of heaven or hell.  A woman's glance affects them more than the eye of God.   We cannot, however, be content with this; we labor that those around us may savingly believe by putting their trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the grand saving act: The man brings his soul and commits it to Christ for safe keeping, and that entrusting of the soul to Jesus saves him. He makes the Saviour trustee of his spiritual estates, and leaves himself and all his eternal interests in those dear hands which once were nailed to the cross. Oh, how we long to see the Holy Spirit bringing men to this, that they may believe in Jesus Christ by resting in Him and trusting upon Him. For this we live, for this we would be content to die, that many might believe.”  Charles Haddon Spurgeon

“Nothing has contributed more powerfully to wean me from all that held me down to earth than the thought….of death and the last judgment.”   Augustine

Those that were flocking to Him in our verses for today, on the other hand, had pressing physical needs of which they were more than fully aware of.  Being ever faithful to His mission, our Lord heals them showing Himself to be Who He had claimed – confirming His Deity through His miraculous works.  His healing ministry was for the purpose of authenticating His Person.  We discover the condition of the likes of those often flocking after the Healer earlier in Matthew and the verses indeed paint quite a dark picture of hopelessness – again, we are all hopeless apart from Christ even if our bodies are whole:

²³ Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. ²⁴ News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them.   Matt 4:23-24 (NIV)

 

Jesus knew it was paramount in the minds of His Jewish hearers for His walk to match His talk.  His works would be expected to be equal to His claim of being the Messiah and equal they were.  Jesus continues to remain in the business of healing those who seek Him - often physically yet always spiritually.  The present tense of the verbs in the below verses remind us that we are to keep asking, to keep seeking and to keep knocking. Our Father in heaven delights in bestowing good gifts to His children – every good and perfect gift is from above.  Laboring prayers are never in vain.  One who comes to Jesus for salvation will in by no means be driven away.  Our Lord tells us in the Sermon on the Mount:

 

⁷ “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”   Matt 7:7-8 (NIV)

“God never tires of giving.”   William Still

⁶ Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. ⁷ Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.   1 Peter 5:6-7 (NIV)

 

³⁷ All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.    John 6:36-37 (NIV)

 

“Faith in God will always be crowned.”  William S. Plummer

 

What I glean from this:

 

·       Jesus has compassion upon all.

·       Apart from Christ, we are all hopelessly needy.

·       Our laboring prayers are never in vain.