Tag: Matthew 8-11
Jesus invites us to rest!
Scripture reading for October 8th: Matthew 8-11
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, 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.” Matthew 11:28-30
This portion of Matthew is one I have preached on often and return to on a regular basis. I have a tendency to love to work. It is like there is a subtle underlying need to find my worth in what I do or how much I can do. This is hard to admit. I must be reminded often that He is able to handle the loads of life’s problems and I must walk with Him daily. My work earns me nothing because salvation is all grace.
In the time of Jesus, a rabbi was a master teacher who gathered disciples. When a student was fully trained, he would be like his teacher. (Luke 6:40) It was an honor to be invited to follow a rabbi and only the brightest and best were asked. However, Jesus the “rabbi”, went among the common people and called out those who appeared to be the unqualified. Jesus looked at the heart!
The ‘yoke’ of the rabbi was his teachings and example. A disciple would learn to follow the master so closely that it was said that the dust of the rabbi was on their clothes as they walked closely behind him. Jesus called all to come to him! He asked them to come under His authority, which had been given Him by the Father. (Matthew 11:27) Sickness departed at His word! (Matthew 8:2-3) Demons in people left at His command! (Matthew 8:28-34) Sins were forgiven and a paralytic healed. (Matthew 9:1-8) A dead girl was raised to life at His word! (Matthew 9:23-25) Blind men received their sight at His touch. (Matthew 9:27-31) At His command, the disciples were sent out and miracles were done through their hands! (Matthew 10:1-8)
Following Jesus still requires a complete surrender to learn from Him. His ‘yoke’ is easy and His ‘burden’ is light because He is with us wherever we are! We can rest in Him today and follow closely! Our walk with Him on earth leads to eternity with Him!
A yoke of rest!
Scripture reading for October 8th: Matthew 8-11
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, 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.” Matthew 11:28-30
This portion of Matthew is one I have preached on often and love to return to on a regular basis. It seems that I have a tendency to love to work and take on lots of projects. It is like I have a subtle need to find my worth in what I do or how much I can do. This is hard to admit and even harder to detect the true motives. I must remember that my work earns me nothing because salvation is all grace!
In the time of Jesus, a rabbi was a master teacher whose disciples were training to be like their teacher. When a student was fully trained, he would be like his teacher and could also become a rabbi himself. (Luke 6:40) It was an honor to follow a rabbi and only the brightest and best were usually asked. However, Jesus the “Rabbi”, went among the common people and called those who appeared to be the unqualified. Jesus looked at the heart and took those who were willing to leave all and follow!
The ‘yoke’ of the rabbi was his authority and his teachings. A disciple would learn to follow the master so closely that it is said that the dust of the rabbi was on their clothes. Jesus asked followers to come under His authority received from His Father. (Matthew 11:27) Sickness departed at His word! (Matthew 8:2-3) Demons in people left at His command! (Matthew 8:28-34) Sins were forgiven and a paralytic healed. (Matthew 9:1-8) A dead girl was raised to life at His word! (Matthew 9:23-25) Blind men received their sight at His touch. (Matthew 9:27-31) At His command, the disciples were sent out and miracles were done through their hands! (Matthew 10:1-8)
Following Jesus requires a complete surrender to Him. His ‘yoke’ of authority is easy and His ‘burden’ light. He has all authority and has given authority to us to do His work! We are promised even greater works because He has gone to the Father! (John 14:12-13) Are you under Jesus Christ and His yoke?
What Kind of Man Is This?
Scripture reading for October 8th: Matthew 8-11
“The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey Him!” (Matthew 8:27) The disciples were in a boat with Jesus crossing the sea of Galilee when a terrible storm rocked their boat. It was so severe that they feared for their lives. Jesus was sleeping and they awoke Him, begging Him to save them! He first rebuked them for their lack of faith, and then rebuked the wind and waves, bringing calm. These disciples began to question who this man might be. They had never seen anything like it! The authority and power that came from Jesus’ words were unlike any other mans.
As we read the Gospels and their eye-witness accounts of Jesus Christ and his miracles, we ourselves wonder. We have not witnessed anything quite like the accounts in our readings today. We first find Jesus healing a leper by touching him. (Matthew 8:1-4) This caused quite a stir, because leprosy made a person unclean. No one was to touch them. Jesus violated the Jewish religious rules and touched the man, bringing healing! Many sick and demon possessed people were brought to Jesus and he drove the evil spirits out and healed the people! (Matthew 8:16-17) He confronted two demon-possessed men who were so violent that no one would come near them. It appears that he went to that place just to deal with them. He cast the evil spirits out of the men into a large herd of swine, which then rushed into the lake and drowned! (Matthew 8:28-34) This resulted in the whole town coming out to meet Jesus and pleading with Him to leave their region! What manner of man was this?
The next miracle in today’s reading is the healing of the paralytic who was brought to Jesus by two men carrying him on a mat. Jesus saw their faith and told the man that his sins were forgiven! This caused the religious folks to go wild! So Jesus told the man to take up his bed and walk and he did! Jesus next went to the home of a ruler whose daughter had died. He took her hand and she got up, very much alive! Jesus provoked wonder and amazement everywhere He went! He is still doing that today!
A Yoke of Rest!
Scripture reading for October 8th: Matthew 8-11
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, 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.” Matthew 11:28-30
This portion of Matthew is one I have preached on often and love to return to on a regular basis. It seems that I have a tendency to love to work and take on lots of projects, speaking engagements, and commitments. It is like there is a subtle underlying need to find my worth in what I do or how much I can do. This is hard to admit and even harder to detect the true motives sometimes. I need to come to Jesus and remember that He is able to handle the loads of life’s problems and I must walk with Him under His authority in all I do. My work earns me nothing because salvation is all grace.
In the time of Jesus, a rabbi was a master teacher who usually gathered disciples who would train to be like their teacher. In fact, when a student was fully trained, he would be like his teacher and could also become a rabbi and have disciples. (Luke 6:40) It was an honor to be invited to follow a rabbi and only the brightest and best were usually asked. However, Jesus the “rabbi”, went among the common people and called out those who appeared to be the unqualified. They were often considered the least qualified but Jesus looked at the heart and took those who were willing to leave all and follow!
The ‘yoke’ of the rabbi was his authority and his teachings. A disciple would learn to follow the master so closely that it is said that the dust of the rabbi was on their clothes as they walked closely behind him. Jesus called all to come to him! He asked them to come under His authority, which had been given Him by the Father. (Matthew 11:27) Everything was under His authority and he had demonstrated that earlier in our reading today by many miracles. Sickness departed at His word! (Matthew 8:2-3) Demons in people left at His command! (Matthew 8:28-34) Sins were forgiven and a paralytic healed. (Matthew 9:1-8) A dead girl was raised to life at His word! (Matthew 9:23-25) Blind men received their sight at His touch. (Matthew 9:27-31) At His command, the disciples were sent out and miracles were done through their hands! (Matthew 10:1-8)
Following Jesus requires a complete surrender to Him and becoming a learner of His teachings and character. His ‘yoke’ of authority is easy and His ‘burden’ is light because He travels with you and me wherever we are. He has all authority and has given authority to us to do His work! Even greater works will we do because He has gone to the Father! (John 14:12-13) We can rest in Him today and follow closely! We are promised to be like Him one day, enjoying a heavenly body and knowing Him fully!