Matthew
17
– 19
Sit down, strap in and let’s dive into a lot of subjects
quickly. Verse 17:9 is interesting:
The four men hiked
back down the mountain, and Jesus told His disciples to stay silent.
Jesus:
Don’t tell anyone what happened here, not until the Son of Man has been raised
from the dead.
Interesting here since Peter, James and
John first saw Jesus with Elijah and Moses with God and Jesus is saying be
silent. Also, notice he says until he has been “raised from the dead”. That
would be the first question out of my mouth as to what does that mean. He
continues to answer the questions and provide insight into the prophecies that
have been fulfilled for Him being the Messiah.
Jesus then heals a man who the disciples
could not and goes on to explain to them why this was the case. In verse 17:20
he gives the “mustard seed” analogy and then verse 21 is as follows:
[21 But
this kind is not realized except through much prayer and fasting.]
I was curious why it was in brackets so
time to explore. The reason is the earliest manuscripts omit this verse which
makes one wonder if Matthew revised this text or if it was revised but
transcribers to clarify the meaning. Also, could this be a clue there was an
earlier text that has not been found that included this verse. I read this as a
clue that maybe we need to pray and fast more.
Verse 18:7 starts a series of critical
warnings to all Christians:
Beware indeed of
those in a world filled with obstacles and temptations that cause people to
turn away from Me. Those temptations are woven into the fabric of a world not
yet redeemed, but beware to anyone who lures righteous women and men off
the narrow path.
I could write a book on this but need to
trim down. I implore you to read through verse 14 to really get a flavor on
what Jesus is warning them of in this world. I believe the biggest one in this
world today is porn. I know more good men that have been drawn into the lure of
this world. I know for a while I was caught up in it and fight it constantly to
this day. Today it’s easy and dangerous! Men say I’m only looking, but what is
though is often acted out upon. These warnings and instructions are critical to
this very day!!
The next story is the man in debt who was
forgiven by the king and then does not forgive a lesser debt. The king reversed
his decision and threw him in jail. In verse 18:35 Jesus ties this together:
And that is what
My Father in heaven will do to you, unless you forgive each of your brothers and
each of your sisters from the very cockles of your heart.
All over the Gospels, Jesus warns us about
forgiveness. The Lord’s Prayer even says forgive us like WE forgive others. Do
we really want that? If not we need to change our ways immediately and learn to
forgive as we desire God to forgive. God’s grace is not so great He will
overlook this detail and we ARE warned!!
The last story is chapter 19 is the rich
man who was asked to give it all. Without pointing out a specific verse what is
often missed is the rich can join the kingdom as long as they are not
worshiping their money over God. I know for a fact that money can be a huge
distraction and can easily draw anyone away from following God. We are blessed
and then start focusing more on the blessings then serving the one who gave
them.
As I move into my next “quarter” of my life
I am now searching for significance. My view was I needed riches to help others
and that has really changed since riches only help others help others. Let me
unpack this, often we donate to charities so missionaries can get their hands
dirty and work with the needy. What if God gave us these riches so we could
walk away from the rat race and personally help others? Our goal should be
serving God to the grave. So as my next “quarter” comes in, I am moving towards
significance and less towards comfort. Sure I would love a windfall, but will
change direction on how it’s managed.
One last note on yesterday’s reading .. one of the
reasons I decided to read the Voice was because of Isaiah 34:14 where the
mention Lilith by name … long story but this is from a view that Lilith is one
of the angels who were cast from heaven and ties into the porn problem today.
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