Matthew 16 - Beware of the Leaven of the Pharisees

Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread. Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread? Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. Matthew 16:6-12.

After the healing of the Canaanite woman's daughter and the feeding of the second multitude of 4000 in the wilderness, the Pharisees come back again, questioning Jesus. They knew very well that this amazing feat of feeding some 20,000 people with seven basketsful of leftover food was a sign by Jesus to the rulers of Israel that one greater than Moses had come. Moses fed Israel manna in the desert when they fled Egypt, but here was a man who feed them a super abundance of fish and loaves! God had never done anything like this before! Jesus was declaring that He was not only an anointed Jewish man (the Son of man), but that He was also divine, of God ( the Son of God). For that reason, the Pharisees came asking for a sign from heaven that would prove this truth.

Of course, Jesus was not going to provide any such thing, because the evidence was already there and in abundance. He answered that a wicked, evil, and adulterous generation requests signs when the evidence is as plain as the nose on one's face. In this new kingdom, revelation of truth comes by faith and not continual natural proof. Besides, even if Jesus had provided them with some sort of sign, they never would've believed it! Their hearts were hardened and calloused; they were blind and deaf and doomed to destruction (in 70AD).

Jesus warned His disciples to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, meaning the man made doctrines that make the Gospel of no effect. At first the disciples thought He was talking about bread, but Jesus always speaks of spiritual things before dealing with natural issues. The spiritual sin or leaven of this Pharisaical/temple system would be the greatest obstacle to the Gospel message advancing forth. This is still true today. Religion (even some facets of Zionism), Christian watch-dogs, and denominationalism are the greatest hindrance to the advancement of the Gospel of grace. All of us need to examine the teaching we are sitting under and purge out anything that does not line up with God's precious Word!

Matthew 15: Hearts Laid Bare

But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man. Matthew 15:18-20.

After the miraculous feeding of the multitude, the Pharisees came to Jesus asking why He and His disciples didn't ceremonially wash their hands in accordance with the tradition of the Jewish elders. The implication was that Jesus and the disciples were defiling themselves by eating without washing.

Jesus confronted them with their hypocrisy and then turned and taught His disciples re spiritual cleanliness. Here is the lesson: It isn't what goes in to a person that makes him or her unclean, but what comes out of his or her mouth, ie his or her words. Why words? Because the words and the ensuing actions (which are the manifestation of those words) reflect the condition of that person's heart. Yes, there are religious people today, just like the Pharisees, who say all the right things, but their conduct is very different from their speech. I'm sure that if you stuck close to them for any length of time (as a fly on a wall) you would probably hear very different words come out of their mouth from what is espoused while attending church functions.

God is all about giving us new, clean hearts that speak His words and perform His actions. The condition of one's heart is based on what he or she believes, and that belief is based on one's thinking. How does one change his or her thinking to line up with God's thinking? Meditate on the Word and keep meditating, even when circumstances and people pressure you to give up, cave in, and quit!

Matthew 14 - Rise Above the Wind & Waves!

And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? Matthew 14:28-31. 

After the feeding of the five thousand, Jesus directed His disciples to go over to the other side of the Sea of Galilee to the land of Gennesarat while He went up to a high mountain to pray. A wonderful spiritual lesson was about to unfold; as the wind kicked up and the waves began to roll, the disciples found that they could not maneuver their boat toward their destination. Circumstances were against them, and they were doomed to fail without God's intervention.

Jesus knew of their circumstance but waited until after 3am to come to them - not as a rescuer who would snatch them out of their predicament, and not even as one who would calm the wind and the waves. No, He came as one who would show them HOW they were to RISE ABOVE the wind and waves and do what they had been called to do. He came to them walking above the wind and waves, revealing Himself as not only an anointed flesh man, but also an anointed, spiritual God man.

What is the message to us on the other side of the cross? Persecutions and obstacles will be there, and they may be huge, both from the spiritual realm and the natural realm. But we, as born again children of God, are to rise above all of that, with our spiritual sights set on Jesus, and do as He has called us to do. We cannot let fear stop us, but must push through our fleshly hesitancies and things that defy our natural reasoning and move forward in faith. Those of us who are bold like Peter will do supernatural, miraculous things, provided we step out in faith AND keep our eyes on Jesus. This is impossible to do in our flesh, but with and IN the spirit, all things are possible!

Jesus casually walked above a wild and tumultuous sea, and Peter did too! The same power and authority IN CHRIST is available to the church today! How exciting!

Matthew 13 - Parable of the Wheat and the Tares

The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. Matthew 13:41-44. 

Jesus explained to His disciples that at the day of Judgment (which was 70AD) the angels of God would separate out the fruit-bearing wheat from the weeds or tares. The tares would be bound together and thrown into the lake of fire, whereas the wheat would be allowed to flourish and grow.

Jesus went on to explain that the wheat represent the sons of God, the offspring of good seed (the Gospel of Jesus Christ), whereas the tares represent the sons of the enemy, the offspring of the enemy's seed. He had warned the Pharisees, scribes, and Sadducees of this to their face, declaring that they were of their father, the devil, always speaking lies, asking for signs and failing to believe. If they had really been the offspring of Abraham as they claimed, they would've done what Abraham did - believe.

Jesus used other wonderful parables to explain the nature of this new kingdom being ushered in. It would not be an earthly, powerful kingdom like what Israel had experienced under King David and Solomon, but a spiritual kingdom that would start out very small. Like a mustard seed, it would begin very tiny, then would grow up as an herb, and then later become the greatest of trees.

This kingdom was a mystery that had been buried away, but like treasure in a field or a costly pearly in an oyster, it would be dug up and exposed for all the world to see. And that's exactly what the Lord Jesus Christ did when He sent to the cross, died, and was raised up. He is the man in the parable who found the treasure in the field and the merchant who discovered the pearl of great price, and we, His body, are that treasure and that pearl. We, His offspring, make up this wonderful kingdom! Selah!

Matthew 12 - The Sign of Jonah

Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Matthew 12:38-40.

Despite all the miracles, signs, and wonders performed by Jesus, the Pharisees and scribes of Israel could not believe He was Messiah, but instead asked for a sign. Jesus called them evil and adulterous for asking for additional proof, because as God's covenant partner (Israel was considered God's wife), they of all people should've had eyes to see and ears to hear. The only sign they would be given was the sign of Jonah, who was in the belly of the whale for three days and three nights.

I'm sure the prophet Jonah had no idea that his life was a prophetic metaphor for the coming savior, and yet it was. Jesus declared that as Jonah was in the whale's belly, He, the son of man, would likewise be three days and nights in the belly of the earth, meaning the tomb. But then after that time, He would be resurrected and would preach the Word to Israel and the world, just as Jonah was spit forth from the whale's mouth and preached repentance to Nineveh!

So many of us have been taught that Jesus died on a Friday, was in the tomb on Saturday, and then was raised up on Sunday. For years I had wondered how Jesus could've been in the belly of the earth for three days and three nights if He died in accordance with this time line. Fortunately, after some research and digging into the truth, I discovered what many have come to believe, that He in fact died on  Passover of 30 AD, which is a Wednesday, making the Scripture absolutely true!

The Book of Ruth - Part 4

And he said, Blessed be thou of the LORD, my daughter: forthou hast shewed more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning, inasmuch as thou followedst not young men, whether poor or rich. And now, my daughter, fear not; I will do to thee all that thou requirest: for all the city of my people doth know that thou arta virtuous woman. Ruth, Chapter 3:10-11

Here in Chapter 3, we see Ruth's relationship with Boaz transition from servant to an intimate relationship with her kinsman redeemer. Forsaking all worldly options of having a young husband and children, Ruth follows the advice and direction of her mother-in-law, Naomi, and agrees to claim her right of being redeemed by the older, Boaz.

Many of us in the body of Christ have been faced with the decision of foregoing the worldly options in life for something better (yet seemingly harder) offered by the heavenly father. Unlike Ruth, we sometimes shrink back, because what is asked by the Lord seems to be too hard. But the father strengthens us, and we are many times given a second opportunity to accept what is being offered.

Don't let the first opportunity pass! Be like Ruth and accept the invitation now!