An Earthen Vessel

The first time we see Mary, she is seated at the feet of Jesus, listening to Him talk and teach of the things of God. (Luke 10:38) Luke says that Martha, her sister, had invited Jesus into their home. There was a problem because Martha was working hard to serve everyone and Mary sat at the feet of Jesus and listened to Him instead of helping her sister Martha. We all know this story and if you think that this is another teaching about the Marys and the Marthas in the world, you are mistaken.

I want to challenge you to think of Mary as the flesh and blood human being that she was. Her brother, Lazarus, was  a personal friend of Jesus in a different capacity than the disciples.We don't know how Jesus knew this family or for how long  He knew them before the recorded events took place. We can say for certain that Mary was drawn to Jesus and knew that He was incredibly special. She knew that he was capable of healing the sick because the next time we see her in scripture is in John11. Here we find out that the two sisters, Mary and Martha, sent for Jesus when their brother Lazarus gets sick.   Jesus does not go to them right away and Lazarus dies. When Jesus does  arrive in Bethany, Martha says " Lord if you had been here, my brother would not have died" It also says that Martha went to meet Him but Mary did not. Is it possible that Mary and Martha were a little upset with Jesus? They must have known that He could have made it to them quicker than He did. They knew where He was and knew how long the journey took to get to them.  Remember, they were people, women, just like us. It is possible that they had discussed the fact that Jesus had not made it to them in time. Where was He when they needed Him?
At this point in John 11, Martha professes that she still believes that God will give Him anything He asks for and that he is the Christ, the Son of God, but her words in between those professions do not seem to prove that she really believed them .
 She calls Mary and tells her that Jesus is asking for her. When Mary gets to Jesus the scripture says she falls at the feet of Jesus, her grief overcoming her. She speaks the same words that Martha had said to Jesus. "Lord , if you had been here, my brother would not have died"

The Scripture says that Jesus was very moved  and asks them to remove the stone in front of Lazarus's tomb. At this point  Martha, the one who had just told Jesus that she believed that He was the Son of God , protested loudly that by now her brother's body would surely stink. It appears that Mary just watched the whole thing unfold. 
Jesus prays to God the Father that those around Him might believe that He was indeed sent by the Father and He calls Lazarus to come out of his grave. 
Now, fast forward to John 12. Jesus is again eating with Lazarus and his family. Mary comes with a pound of very costly perfume. Mark 14:3 says she "broke the vial and poured it over His head". 

According to Unger's and what I could glean from the internet. This vial or jar, would have been either a family investment, or part of a dowry given to Mary by someone intending to marry her. This pound of pure Nard had great significance. The fact that she broke the container open meant that there was no going back. There was no resealing this container to use on another occasion or to use for another purpose.  Either this was a family decision to honor Jesus or Mary was making a very personal statement to Him. It seems to me that the statement was very personal to Mary. After all, she wipes His feet with her hair according to John 12. 

Is it possible that Mary was very fond of Jesus in every way? She was just an ordinary woman who was fortunate enough in her lifetime to meet the King of Kings. When I started dating my husband, he was a believer in Jesus. I was not. As I got to know him, I could see that he had something that I didn't have. I could tell that there was something different about him so I asked him to take me to church. Now I know that it was the Holy Spirit in his life and it was very appealing. I for one, think that Jesus our Lord, full of the Holy Spirit in human flesh, would be very appealing to the heart of a woman. He was kind and caring to a fault. He healed the sick, fed the hungry and brought her own brother back to life. And in Rev. 19, He is described as the quintessential "Prince" Coming on a white horse for His bride and it says His name is Faithful and True. (which by the way, is where we get all of the stories of the prince coming on a white horse.) What woman does not want "faithful and true"?

I am not writing this to suggest that anything transpired between Mary and our Lord. I'm doing it to make a point. It is very possible that Mary was completely and totally devoted to an earthly Jesus at this point. She could have seen Him as her future. Her all in all. It is also possible that she had her life and future all worked out in her mind. She thought of many scenarios for herself and all of them seemed good if Jesus was going to be in her future. I am basing this on what I would have been thinking if I were her. I would have had the plan all worked out in my mind.

Then what happens? Her Lord, her life, her love,her King of Kings is cruelly murdered. After the death of Jesus, many Marys are mentioned in the scriptures but historians agree that none of them are her. There is no factual basis to the stories that she and Mary Magdalene are the same person. No, after the dinner and the pound of Nard, she fades into obscurity.  

But what if we could see what her life was like after the crucifixion. It is possible that she was completely  devastated. The Chief Priests were plotting to kill her brother (Matt12:10) as well as Jesus and they had succeeded at least, with half of their plan. She and her family would have been put out of the synagog for their relationship with Jesus. Basically, her world would have fallen completely apart. She knew in her spirit that she had been right where God wanted her. She knew Jesus had the words to eternal life and yet, things were  horrible now. Nothing had worked out the way she thought it would. Her life was not going to be what she thought it would be. 

Sound familiar? 

I like to think that Mary heard of the resurrection very soon after it occurred. That she was present for Pentecost and that she, very soon was able to give her Lord and savior the proper place in her life. 

Jesus needed to become the King of her eternity not just the King of her heart.  Hopefully she soon realized that whatever the King of Kings had for her, was enough. That her life was in Him now, seen or unseen. 

It has to be this way for us too. Jesus has to be enough for what ever is happening in our lives. Coming to this point in our relationship with Jesus is a true milestone to measure in our growth as a Christian.

I remember when the Lord spoke His word into my life as I stood in the hallway of a hospital where my youngest daughter lay in intensive care. I was having a discussion with one of her Drs and a nurse rushed out and said that I needed to come right away because my baby was not doing well and they were afraid that she might not live. The situation was dire. I needed to rush forward at that moment but my legs would not move. I was not sure that they would even hold me up much less let me hurry forward. I heard the verse from Job spoken into my heart . "Though He slay me , I will hope in Him" (Job 13:15)

My girl, doing her favorite thing.

At that moment I realized that He was enough for me, not just enough but He was all I needed. He was my King.  He holds my past, present and future in His hands with a greater love than I will ever know from anyone else. 

He gave my baby back to me.When I was finally able to hold her again there was nothing more wonderful. She is 11 now, and we have been through many more hospital stays and surgeries since that day. I still pray everyday that the Lord will complete her healing. But, His love, His sweetness, His power is enough for this woman's heart. "Though he slay me,I will hope in Him"

Love
Nancy

Matthew Chapter 17

Where is the 3rd disciple?

I can't help myself. I'm such a visual thinker that I found all of these renditions of the transfiguration, very interesting. I hope you don't mind if I include some of the pictures that I found. 

So six days after He spoke to His disciples about  dying on a cross, He takes John, James and Peter to a high mountain. Verse 17:2 tells us that He was "transfigured".  He was changed some how and His face shone and His garments shined like light. 
As I was looking through the pictures on line I found myself trying to compare each one to what the scripture says about this event. I rejected some of the pictures I found because they did not resemble the description that was written at all.

Matthew tells us in verse 17:3 that Moses and Elijah appeared with Him. We actually get more details to this story in Luke 9 and Mark 9. Luke tells us that they went up on the mountain to pray and while they were there, the disciples became sleepy and fell asleep. It was some time during this catnap that Elijah and Moses appeared and were talking to Jesus. Luke tells us that they were speaking of His "departure" which he was about to accomplish. I find this amazing. They were not speaking of His glory, or His majesty. They were speaking of the cross. They were speaking of the suffering that was ahead of Him on this earth and what He was to accomplish.

I don't think E. and M. look glorious enough,

Luke 9:31.

I find this account very embarrassing for the disciples. They were praying with Jesus and struggling to stay awake. They were so human. I think we can all relate to that.

I think that Jesus and these two, once earthly beings, were speaking of the cross and Jesus's plan of departure from this earth, as a way to show the disciples that the cross was the divine plan.  And also, it was a way of showing them that He was Lord of all. In this one event, he showed them that He wasn't just a prophet but that He had command over life and death and command over the world seen and unseen.

It felt to me as I read this chapter, that the disciples woke to hear them talking as a child may wake to hear the grown ups talking late at night. Luke 9 tells us that, Elijah and Moses had started to leave, so at this point, Peter says; Master it is good that we are here. Let us make sacred tents for You, Moses and Elijah. Eerdman speculates that possibly Peter was trying to  keep Elijah and Moses from leaving. It is possible that he felt that he had missed the bulk of this amazing event by drifting off and was trying to make this incredible experience last a little longer. We know that Peter knew that Elijah was to precede the Messiah because he asks about it later (17:10). Maybe he thought that this was it. Time for Jesus to be revealed and take His rightful place as King.
As they were traveling down the mountain, Jesus tells them to tell no one about what they saw until He was raised from the dead.  Mark 9:10 tells us that after He told them to keep silent, they debated about what He meant by "raised from the dead". They still did not understand what had to take place.

I included this one because of the man down below with his ailing son.Even though the scriptures are clear that the two events did not happen at the same time

For the next passages, I want to use Matthew 17, Luke 9 and Mark 9, to get a better understanding of the actual event. The next day , when Jesus and the disciples came down the mountain, they saw a large crowd gathered. The 9 disciples, who remained down at the bottom of the mountain, were in an argument with a group of scribes. They were surrounded by a large crowd. When the crowd saw Jesus, they ran to meet Him. One in that crowd, was a man who fell down at the feet of Jesus asking Him to heal his demon possesd   son.  We are given an incredible description of what this boy suffered in Mark, Luke and Matthew. His father said he was a lunatic, (which in those days meant that he was affected by the cycles of the moon) he was unable to speak or hear. He was possessed by a demon which caused him to have seizures, convulsions, to foam at the mouth and to throw himself into fire and water in an attempt to destroy himself.  When Jesus was approaching . His father begs Jesus to help them "if He can". Remember, He had just seen Jesus's disciples fail at healing his son of this terrible demon possession. The demon throws the boy to the ground as Jesus approaches and the boy cries out in his suffering. 
Passages like this give us an insight into the spiritual world. We see Moses and Elijah with Jesus  obviously existing in a spiritual state. We also see how a demon seems to be able to randomly select a small child to torment. I think all of us agree that Moses and Elijah are not dead anymore than the Devil and demons are  dead. It is important that we read these passages and  see the reality of what we are reading about. We should not be living as if the spiritual world does not exist. We see in Matt. 22:31-32, Mark 12:26-27 and Luke 20:37-38, Jesus says that God is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and then He says that He is the God of the living not the dead.  Ephes. 6:12 says that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. 
There is a constant struggle going on for good and evil in our lives and the lives of our families and our loved ones.

In Matthew, Jesus goes on to tell the disciples that they could not cast out the demon because of the littleness of their faith. I have prayed over this passage to help understand what about their faith was little? What were they missing? I wanted to understand. I wanted to know, what about my faith is little? What am I missing?
I believe the answer is in how we view eternity. Do we understand the reality of the spiritual world we cannot see?  Do we give importance to the things that will build our closeness to God and our faith in the future He has promised us?
Once we understand, we have to pray to apply this understanding to our lives, our thoughts and our actions. We have to pray for an eternal perspective in how we live our lives everyday. We have to start living from God's perspective.  
It can be done. Ask God to show you how to live out everyday by considering everything in the scope of eternity.
Since I started praying for understanding, I have seen many of my faults with glaring clarity. I have seen many areas where I was considering how a situation impacted me and not really considering how it was impacting the other humans I come in contact with everyday. I have been able to see that my reactions, words and thoughts can have eternal consequences in the lives of other people.
I think the most important question I have learned to ask is : How will my thoughts, words and actions reflect on my Precious Savior in this situation? This question can be applied to every area of our lives.
Our mothering, our marriages, our friendships. Our shopping at the grocery store, eating out, driving down the street. How we spend our spare time. 
Pray that our precious, almighty, amazing God, would give you His eternal perspective.
Ok, so enough.

I'm not sure about this one.

I HAD A REALLY HARD TIME COMING UP WITH SOMETHING CLEVER TO REMEMBER THIS CHAPTER WITH SO WE ARE JUST GOING TO REMEMBER; MATTHEW 17, THE TRANSFIGURATION  If you can remember that MARK 9 AND LUKE 9 also have the same content as Matthew 17 that will help you too.
Read, read read.... remember to read your chapters over and over again before you try to remember your memory tools and before you move to the next chapter. This will help you to cement the content in your mind. ALSO, REMEMBER TO PRACTICE YOUR MEMORY TOOLS EVERYDAY!!! I like to practice as I'm falling asleep at night. It may cure insomnia. If it doesn't, you will know the Book of Matthew very well.


Much love,
I am praying for all of you,
Nancy

Matthew chapter 16

Because Chapter 16 starts with the word "And", we have to assume that the Pharisees and Sadducees were waiting for Jesus when he exited the boat from verse 15:39. This is the first time we see the Pharisees and Sadducees challenge Him together. Many times we have seen the Pharisees and the teachers, or, Scribes come and challenge Him or ask for a "sign" but never before, in this Gospel, have we seen these two groups together. 
There is a good reason for that. The Pharisees and the Sadducees had fundamental differences in their beliefs.  Please forgive if you already know this, but the Pharisees and Sadducees were different sects of Judaism. Much like Charismatics and Southern Baptists are different sects of Christianity.

 According to Unger's Bible dictionary ;The Sadducee were the wealthy, ruling aristocrats that did not believe in using the Talmud as a guide. They adhered strictly to the teachings of Moses. They did not believe in the resurrection of the body or  angels or spiritual beings except God Himself. The Pharisees held to the Talmud as law and believed that the law was open to interpretation through the Talmud. 
The two groups did not agree on much, so it was very unusual that they would team up to confront Jesus.
 In verse 16:1 They ask Him for a sign. According to Erdman's commentaries, they were not asking for a miracle. They had seen and heard of many of those. They wanted the sign that would put an end to all doubt. They wanted a defining moment. They wanted to see the vision spoken of in Daniel 
7:13-14, where the Messiah comes and presents Himself to God for all eternity  as the almighty ruler of all peoples. The "Son of Man". 
This was a favorite sign of the Jews. They eagerly awaited the return of Elijah and this vision of the Messiah. Jesus knew this well, he often called Himself the Son of Man.

He answers them in verses 16: 2-3, and says that they knew how to look at the sky to figure out the weather (red sky in the morning, sailor take warning ect...) but that they could not discern the spiritual things by looking at what was happening all around them. In verse 16: 4, he calls them evil and adulterous and tells them that no sign except Jonah would be given. 
The next passage, verses 16:5-12, is a marvelous example of the work of the Holy Spirit in the scriptures. We are told that the disciples had forgotten to bring bread on their journey, so when Jesus said to them  "beware the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees" they immediately think that He is saying this because they forgot to bring bread. Jesus calls them "men of little faith" and asks them didn't they remember the five thousand He fed or the four thousand He fed and how much was left over?  He asks them how is it that they can think that He is talking about bread when he is talking about the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Verse 16:12, says, they then understood that He was talking about the teachings of the Pharisees and Saducees being able to permeate everything like leaven in bread dough, not physical bread.

What makes this a marvelous example of the Holy Spirit at work in the scriptures, is the fact that most people do not want to expose their  shortcomings  to the world. The disciples would probably have rather left out the parts of the story where they let Jesus down or fell short in their spiritual understanding. Instead, their mistakes, lack of faith and shortcomings are here for us to see. I am convinced that Matthew wrote these verses only by the prompting of the Holy Spirit.  

Verses 16:13-20 are long debated, and commented on by everyone so I will skip those verses. The assumption I make, is that you, on your own, are reading these chapters over and over again. Make sure you read these verses if you haven't already.

As we finish the chapter starting with verse 16: 21, something very interesting happens. In verse 21 Jesus starts to show His disciples the Messiah described in Isaiah 53. He wants to show them that this prophesy of the suffering servant must be fulfilled by the Son of Man, before He can come in His Glory and fulfill the vision asked for by the Pharisees and Sadducees. There is no doubt that the disciples were waiting for Him to reveal Himself and fulfill the prophesies in Daniel just as the Pharisees and Saducees were. He takes the time to explain what will happen to Him. He tells them plainly that He will be tortured and killed at the hands of the rulers, scribes and even the Priests and He will be raised up on the third day.
 (In verse 16:22-23, we take a little detour here, where we have the famous verse that Jesus said to Peter that Christians and non-Christians alike are familiar with. "Get thee behind Me Satan" We will use this to remember the chapter because it is such a familiar verse.  However, we need to remove the "thee" and use 'GET BEHIND ME SATAN' because this phrase without "thee",  has  sixteen letters. ) OK, So we need to regather our thoughts to get the point. 
Jesus goes on , starting in verse 16:24, to show them that the way to the glorious kingdom age that they were all waiting for, was going to be through the cross. He makes this amazing statement to them "if any man wishes to follow Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow Me". Remember, Jesus had not gone to the cross yet. We have the benefit of hindsight, the disciples did not. It is not clear whether they even understood what He was really saying to them. 
In verse 16:25, He says:" For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake shall find it". He is explaining to them that they must be willing to lose their lives in their decision to follow Him. In verse 16:26, He speaks in general terms here and makes it clear that not only are their souls at stake, but every mans soul. 

He then finishes right where the chapter began. In verses 16:27-28, He speaks of just what the Pharisees and Sadducee are asking to see. "For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels and will recompense everyman according to his deeds" He was making it clear to them that , it is going to happen. He is coming, He will fulfill the prophecies and will be seen in His glorious kingdom. 

He also tells them that some from their group would be able to see this happen before their death. John was the only one, that we know of, that got this opportunity. You can read about it in the book of Revelation.

I know that this is hard work. I know that it is time consuming, but keep going. The Lord will use it in your conversations with everyone. You will be able to find topics easily in the Book of Matthew. You will know your Bible better than you ever have before and the Lord will bless as you think and pray to remember His word.
I am praying for all of you.
God Bless
Love
Nancy

Matthew Chapter 15

At the end of the previous chapter Jesus is being thronged by people who either needed a healing or had a loved one that needed to be healed. I can imagine what an amazing moment in history this must have been. Hope of healing for people desperately ill and people suffering from afflictions that had plagued them their whole lives . Verse 14:36 says "and they began to entreat Him that they might just touch the fringe of His cloak and as many as touched it were cured" I pray that all of you can see the humanness of this moment. I cry out to the Lord daily for the healing of my little daughter. 

And in such a moment, we start Chapter 15. One thing I want to point out here before we really get started in this chapter is the tone and the way Jesus now speaks to the Pharisees and rulers of the day. If you look back in the preceding chapters, you will notice that His replies  to them have changed. They have become gradually  harsher and less patient since chapter 12. (reread  chapter 12 and you will see what I mean).

 In the first verse of Chapter 15 , we see Pharisees and Scribes coming from Jerusalem to confront Jesus. They ask Him why His disciples are breaking the traditions of the elders by not washing their hands before they eat. Jesus does not answer their question directly. Instead He asks them a question back, and in that question He is able to set aside their complaint against Him and ask them why they transgress the law of God for the sake of "their" traditions. By saying to them "your traditions" He is saying that the  transgression that they are complaining about is not against the "elders" (Moses, ect.) But that the tradition they speak of is from the Talmud, a set of rules and laws that expounded on God's word. The Talmud is the labyrinth of, directions, solutions and opinions that the contemporaries of Ezra wrote  to try to keep the nation from falling away from God again after the great exile.  The  rules and regulations set up in the Talmud became more important than what the word of God actually said. That is why in verse 15:9 Jesus quotes Isaiah and says that "in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines of God the teaching of men". To the Jews of the day, the law, lived out by adhering to the Talmud,  was an impossible burden to live under. In Luke 11:46 He said," Woe to you,teachers of the law as well! For you weigh men down with burdens hard to bear, while you yourselves will not even touch the burdens with one of your fingers"

Jesus knew this burden. There is no doubt that He had been raised to carefully keep the law. 

I know that this is getting long, but there are some very important things in this chapter that are easy to miss if we do not  carefully look into what Jesus is trying to say here. In verse 15:4 He goes on to point out the hypocrisy of what pharisees and scribes taught the people. In this passage He points out how they have set aside the law of God for their traditions. He quotes the 5th commandment," Honor thy father and thy mother " and Lev. 20:9. The word "honor" here is not just"to respect"which is the way we use the word in our language, it also means to support, in every way. Including, providing for there basic needs, food, housing ect. The same word is used in 1st Tim. 5:3 when speaking of the widows. In verse 14:5, He contrasts the word of God with what they were teaching on this subject. Their law said that anything they devoted to God was considered "Corban" . According to Unger's bible Dictionary, the pharisees taught that as soon as a person said to his father or mother, "It is Corban" whatever is mine that would profit you, is now devoted to God."  He was absolved of helping his parents in anyway. As a matter of fact, according to the law, he was forbidden to now give anything to his parents. That is why in verse 6, Jesus says "He is not to honor them", or they were "forbidden" according to the way the law was taught, to help them. Which Jesus points out, is a direct contradiction to what the law of God teaches. 

In verse 15:7-9 he openly calls them hypocrites and goes on to use the word of God to tell them that they honored God with their lips but that God knew that their hearts were far from Him. They worship  in vain because they teach the people religious precepts thought up by men.

Then (15:10) He calls the crowd to Himself, they had obviously been standing back to give some privacy to the His discussion with these important people from Jerusalem. He says "hear and understand" Then He says that it's not what a man eats that defiles him but what he says because what he says reveals what his true feelings and desires are.

The next three verses are incredible. In verse 15:12 the disciples ask Jesus if He knew that He had offended the pharisees.  Jesus answers by to comparing the Pharisees to a plant that the Lord did not plant, (read Jer. 2:21) and the blind leading the blind. 

In verse 15:15, Peter asks Jesus to explain the parable about the heart of man. It is verses like this, that encourage me in my short comings. As I have said before, the disciples were people with faults and frailties, just like us. I wish I could hear the tone of Jesus's voice in verse 15:16. I like to think that His answer was kinder than the text leads us to believe. 

Jesus goes on in verses 15:16-20 to explain about our human hearts. All of our sins come from our heart. Meaning, our deepest being. It is where we store our feelings and our loves, good or evil. Our truest motives for whatever we do or say, are there. Sometimes I think we don't even realize what our true motives are, but God does. When we pray, I believe, He is weighing our true motives with every prayer.  In Luke 6:45 it says" out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks" That is why King David said "Search me, O God, and know my heart" (psalm 139:23-24) (read the rest). 

Next, in verses 15:21-28, we read of the precious Canaanite woman who crossed the border from her land into the land of the Jews and began to cry out to Jesus. "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David, my daughter is cruelly demon possessed." What impresses me here, is that her daughters pain was her pain, her child suffers, so she suffers. She knew she needed divine intervention. Only the Lord, the coming Messiah, the Son of David would be able to heal her daughter . She knew the power and importance of the person the Jews were waiting for and now, here He was. He was her only hope.  We get the impression that she followed them for a little while and did not give up, even though it says that Jesus did not even acknowledge her. The disciples asked Him to send her away. 

Verse 15:24 does not deter her.

She came and began to bow down before Him and plead with Him for help. Here he makes the famous statement about the "children's bread being fed to the little dogs" She knew that the Jews referred to the non Jews as dogs. She knew that this was an insult. She didn't care. She was a desperate mom and she knew who Jesus was. She goes on to say the next famous statement that we all know "yes Lord, but even the little dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters table". I think we miss a lot if we do not pay close attention to the words in this passage. Jesus uses the word for a small dog or a puppy and she uses the same word and adds the word "their" masters table. Not "the" masters table. No wonder Jesus says that her faith was great. I think she was saying, Yes Lord, all You are saying is true but, You are the master of all and all my "little one" needs, is a crumb.

In that small statement she makes it clear that she knows His power, she knows He can heal her daughter with the slightest thought , "a crumb".

 In verse 15:28 Jesus tells her that her faith is very great. "be it done as you wish". And her daughter was healed from that hour.  Notice, no where in the passage does it say that her daughter was present. She knew that Jesus would not even have to touch her daughter to heal her. Her faith was great, even before she met Jesus. 

We finish in verses 15:32-39,  with Jesus feeding another 4,000 people. I think that verse 15:33 is interesting because the disciples act like they had never seen Jesus feed a large number of people before. 

So, we are finished with chapter 15. I had to pray for a long time to come up with a way to remember this chapter. Many of the memory tools for the other chapters were easy to associate with the content of the chapter but this one was very difficult.  

WE ARE GOING TO USE 15 WORDS TO REMEMBER THIS CHAPTER.

PHARISEES INSULTED

HEART OF MAN

CANAANITE WOMAN WITH CRUMBS FROM THE TABLE

FOUR THOUSAND FED

 Remember to keep reading! Re-read the chapters over and over again until you feel familiar with them. Pray for remembrance . I hope by now you feel that you have a pretty good minds view of the book of Matthew. Keep practicing your tools for remembering. I know that this one is harder than most but God will bless your efforts to remember what you have read. Go on to chapter 16 if you haven't already!!! 

I am praying for everyone of you! 

God Bless

love

Nancy

 

Matthew Chapter 14

This chapter starts with the account of what ultimately happened to John the Baptist. There are more details of that fateful evening in  Mark  6 :17-30. There are also interesting historical details in The Complete Works of Josephus. Josephus gives interesting cultural details and the family relationships of the Herods.
The girls name was Salome. We find that out from Josephus who was a Jewish historian paid by the Roman government to write the history of the Jews. The Eerdman pulpit commentaries, say that she was likely to be at least 17 or18 at the time because a child would not have been admitted into the audience of Herod and his  friends. This whole dance was considered shocking behavior for a girl considered royalty. To be a woman in the presence of a group of men and to be entertaining them with a dance was scandalous. Her mother, Herodious , obviously knew what the outcome of the dance would be. Mark, 6:19 tells us that Herodious had a grudge against John the Baptist and wanted to put him to death. Herod had kept her from killing him up until the time of this fateful dance.
This is the kind of biblical account of history that I find very interesting. It is easy to read this and forget that these, in fact were, flesh and blood people. I can imagine every bit of the details of this story. From John's point of view, I'm sure that his life did not turn out the way he expected it to. I'm sure he was expecting to be rescued from prison. He was the heralder of the Great King. Born to proclaim the coming of the Messiah. If I were him, I would have been expecting a miracle of deliverance, from those sinners, even up to the last second before that sword took my head. I am convinced that even John did not understand who Jesus was and what He would do for all mankind. John was a man, a human, just like us.

In Verses 13-21 we have the account of Jesus feeding the 5,000. I know that this isn't the best picture, but the point I want to make is that it is easy to overlook what feeding 5,000 people would actually be like. The caption with this picture estimated that the crowd was about 2,000 people. The bible says in verse 21 that the number given of 5,000, was only the men. That number, of 5,000, did not account for the women and children present. A conservative estimate for the actual number of people who ate  was more than 7,000.
This was an incredible miracle.  The disciples actually served  at least 7,000 people that day.  They knew that Jesus had fed 7,000 people with fish and bread that He multiplied from 5 loaves and 2 fish. I have heard commentators and pastors talk about the fact that the loaves and the fish were very small. Even if the were huge there was not enough to feed 7,000 people. All of these facts together make it very interesting that in Chapter 16 we learn that the disciples are concerned about the fact that they didn't bring any bread with them on a later journey. The disciples were people just like us.

In verses 22-33, we have the account of Jesus and Peter walking on the water. In verse 22, it tells us that immediately, Jesus compelled, (made, just short of forced) the disciples to get into a boat and leave Him alone in that place. He had  them leave because the crowds were wanting to make Him king (John 6:15) Of course, the disciples probably thought that the time had come. This was going to be the moment when Jesus would finally be able to become the long awaited king. The people " wanted Him".  From the disciples point of view, everything was ready and in place.

It is possible, that before Jesus rose from the dead and gave them the gift of the Holy Spirit,  that they looked back on this moment in time and thought that when  Jesus sent them away and did not proclaim His kingdom as come, that He made a monumental mistake. Remember, they were human, just like us.

I'm sure, none of this was making sense to them. They were then in a boat for 8 hours trying to cross a very contrary, windy,sea with huge waves. The Greek in verse 24, says that the boat was actually "tormented" by the waves. Eerdman says that they had been rowing for at least 8 hours and had only gone 3 1/2 miles. Then our amazing God came walking on the stormy sea. Next we read of Peter walking on the water .
 I like to think that I would have made it all the way.  In my imagination, I would stand there looking back at the other water tormented disciples, having successfully made it to Jesus. But then I realize how cold that water must have been. We usually see pictures of Jesus walking on the water with  calm seas. It is very possible and probable that the waves were still smacking into Peter and Jesus, and the boat, as they were trying to walk. It wasn't an easy thing to walk on that storm tossed, wind beaten sea. I think this because verse 30 says Peter "saw the wind " and became afraid. If you "see the wind" you are seeing the effects of the wind, the big waves crashing, the water sloshing. It is not until verse 32 that the bible says that they got in the boat and the wind stopped. After that whole adventure, the disciples proclaim Him the Son of God (14:33)

Ok, so to remember this chapter, THE 4 IN THE 14 LOOKS LIKE A LITTLE HATCHET. That is to remind you that John's head was cut off in this chapter.We will also use this little rhyme. JOHN THE BAPTIST LOSES HIS HEAD, WALKS ON WATER, FIVE THOUSAND FED.

With this chapter we are half way through the book of Matthew!!! I hope you are as excited as I am.
Keep practicing! Keep reading!
I am having surgery on one of my feet tomorrow. It might be awhile before I post Chapter 15. But it will come. In the meantime, use this time to catch up and practice. I am praying for everyone who reads this Blog. My prayer has been that the Lord will bring His word alive to you. That He will give you forever remembrance of His word.
God Bless you ladies,
Love Nancy

The Book of Matthew Chapter 13

This chapter starts by saying "on that day". The sentence is referring to the day discussed in the previous chapter where Jesus's family had come to get Him from a house that was so crowded with people trying to see Him that His family couldn't get in (12:47) He obviously left that crowded house and went to the sea side where an even greater crowd gathered. This is probably only important in that it sets the scene for some of Jesus's most well known teachings. According to Eerdman's pulpit commentaries, the original language is specific about Jesus sitting in the boat and the crowd being so great, that they had no choice but to stand, willingly, on the sandy place (or beach). I can imagine that kind of crowd. I have been in that kind situation myself. We have been to Disney world a few times and the crowds that wait to see the fireworks literally force you to stand.

Jesus starts in verse 13:3,  with the parable of the sower. He clearly gives the meaning of this parable in verses , 13:18-23. But, what happens in between is very interesting. 

It is apparent after the crowded beach scene, that the disciples were able to speak to Him in  a more private situation because they ask Him why He was speaking to the crowd in parables. In verse  13:11, He begins to answer their question. The one verse that I want to focus on here is Verse  13:12. I have heard many explanations for this verse  but I believe that the meaning  and intent of this verse is right there in the passage. In verse 13: 9 He says, "He who has ears, let him hear"  Jesus is referring back to this "ears to hear" passage in verse  13:12 when He says. "For whoever has (the willing ears to hear), to Him shall more be given. But whoever does not have (the willing ears to hear) even what he has shall be taken away from him." I base the "willing" part on verse  13:15 where Jesus is quoting Isaiah when He says."The heart of this people has become dull (the Greek is bloated or fat) and with their ears they scarcely hear and they have closed their eyes. Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and return and I should heal them". Look this up and see what you think. The cross references that I think also support this view are Luke 18:18 and Mark 4:23 and 25. I heard a pastor say this once but wasn't sure until I looked it up myself. Two different commentaries that I tried to use as references, do nor even address this verse. Let me know what you think. 

To briefly discuss the rest of the parables; the Wheat and the Tares and the Dragnet 

are similar in that they all discuss the fact that God will decide who is a true believer in Jesus Christ, at the end of the age. We are not to be deciding who is really a believer or who is really saved by their actions or words.  I know I have been very upset over what some people have done in the name of Christ. I mourn over their representation of Him to the rest of the world. We do not have to worry about denouncing them to the world. The Lord is going to take care of all of that.

The parable of the mustard seed speaks of the unnatural growth of the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth. The mustard seed normally grows into a large bush, not a tree big enough for birds to nest in although, I have read that flocks of Gold finch love to rest in these bushes. Reading about this passage in Eerdman's commentaries, He says that the Greek  does not necessarily assign any thing negative to it's meaning but most pastors will say  that Jesus was giving us a negative picture of what would happen to the church in the years to come. They base this on the places in scripture where other large overgrown trees are mentioned and where birds are used as an insult and a curse on the future of a people or an individual. The books of Jeremiah and Ezekiel are full of passages which refer to people's dead bodies being thrown out or left out to be picked apart by birds. There is the passage in Genesis 40:17 where the  baker for Pharaoh has asked Joseph to interpret his dream.  In the dream, the birds come and eat the bread from his basket which foreshadows his death by losing his head. In Daniel (4:12) we see Nebuchadnezzar described  as a very large tree that the birds of the air find sanctuary in  but Nebuchadnezzar was a Chaldean king who held the people of Israel captive and in  Dan.4:33 we see that when God's judgement came upon Nebuchadnezzar, he became bird like with  hair  like long feathers ,and long bird like claws. And lastly we see in Matthew 13:4 that the birds came and ate up the seed sown on the side of the road. So, the church will become a large overgrown

entity with many branches that evil ravenous influences can nest in? I don't know. You tell me.

The simplest understanding of the parable of the leaven for me is that the woman represents the bride of Christ, or the church, by which the kingdom of God is worked into the world until the whole world is permeated with the knowledge of His kingdom.
We know that Jesus used the example of leaven to represent the evil influences and ideas of the Pharisees and Sadducees or any other evil that can easily permeate the church. He tells us that in Chapter 16:6-12. But I think to assume that in all cases leaven is used to denote evil would be a mistake especially because He specifically says in verse 13:33 that the Kingdom of God is like the leaven not the peck meal.
I have heard people teach from a negative point of view, that it is significant that it is a woman who kneads the leaven into the bread and that part of Jesus's  warning was about  the propensity for women to sow discourse and sin in the church. Again, I will refer back to Eerdman. He says that the Greek shows no special emphasis on the fact that it is a woman kneading in the leaven. In their culture, as well as ours, It is women who do the bread making. 

 I think the two parables about the costly pearl and the treasure, speak of the importance of each person knowing  and embracing the value of the gift of salvation on an individual basis. The people in the parables are willing to forsake everything else for this rare, precious treasure. In both parables, Jesus says that the people "sell all that they have" to obtain the treasure they have found. 

We finish this chapter with Jesus going back to His own home town of Nazareth where everyone knows Him and His family. His brother's names are listed here and His sisters are mentioned although not by name. We see the people of Nazareth reject His teaching because they have known Him since He was a child. The bible says that He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief. How sad.

Ok, so I would say that this chapter is mostly comprised of parables. So we will use verse 13:13 "therefore I speak to them in parables" to remember this chapter. Isn't that incredible how that worked out! God is good! FOR CHAPTER 13 REMEMBER VERSE 13:13 "THEREFORE I SPEAK TO THEM IN PARABLES"

Keep reading! Start reading chapter 14 if you haven't already. Read the chapter you are on, over and over again so that it will be set in your memory and as you read the chapters in order, the book you are studying will become successive and clearer to you and easier to understand and remember.

I am praying for all of you! Let me know what you think,
Love
Nancy

LIST OF TOOLS TO USE TO REMEMBER WHAT IS IN THE CHAPTERS OF THE BOOK MATTHEW

 This is the list of what we are using to remember what is in the different chapters. Of course the idea isn't to remember the entire chapter (although that would be good). The idea is to remember key points  and information about subjects that are frequently discussed. The goal is to give you the ability to quickly turn to important subjects in the book of Matthew. I was listing all of the tools at the end of each blog but that was making each blog too long. So now I will just update this list anytime a new chapter is posted.
Let me know If I can do anything to help you with be able to better succeed at this. It can be done! I have been working on the book of John along with the book of Matthew and can
now remember something from every chapter of the book of John.



CHAPTER 1, the first 17 verses are genealogy, then if you turn the 18 0n it's side it looks like a swaddled baby. Verse 18 starts the Christmas story.

CHAPTER 2, Jesus turns 2, the wise men come, Herod slaughters the 2 year olds.

CHAPTER 3, h20, AND TRINITY, John the baptist baptizes Jesus and we see the Trinity as Jesus leaves the water.

CHAPTER 4, THINK FAST,  fast has 4 letters , Jesus fasted for 40 days and 40 nights, Jesus appointed 4 apostles, Peter, Andrew, James and John.

CHAPTER 5, BLESS YOUR HEART. Bless and heart have 5 letters, the beatitudes are here and the verses about committing adultery in your heart are here.

CHAPTER 6,  PRAYER (6 letters) and WORRY, the Lord's prayer is here and Jesus talks about worrying here.

CHAPTER 7, JUDGING (7 letters) and PROPHET (7 letters), The verse about the log in your own eye is here and the verse about fruit inspection of prophets is here.

CHAPTER 8, VERSE 8:8," Lord I am not worthy for You to come under my roof but just say the word and my servant will be healed". The story of the centurion with the great faith is here. LET THE DEAD BURY THEIR OWN DEAD AND PIGS OVER A CLIFF.

CHAPTER 9, In verse 9:9, Matthew is called by Jesus to follow Him, Double the 9 and you get 18. Verse 9:18 is the story of the woman with the issue of blood for 12 years and Jesus bringing the little girl back to life.

CHAPTER 10, TEN SENDS OUT THE 12, Jesus sends His disciples out to preach the good news.

CHAPTER 11, the 11 looks like prison bars. John the baptist was in prison and if you let the two ones of the 11 fall inward, you will get and X, the verse about the Ox and yoke are here.

CHAPTER 12 Verse 12:12 says "It is lawful to  do good on the Sabbath" also the word UNPARDONABLE has 12 letters. The verse about the "unpardonable sin" is here.

CHAPTER 13 VERSE 13:13" Therefore I speak to them in parables" this chapter has the "wheat and tares ", "the leaven," "the mustard seed" ect.

CHAPTER 14, the 4 in the 14 looks like a little hatchet to remind you that John the Baptist was beheaded here. Also we will use this little rhyme, JOHN THE BAPTIST LOSES HIS HEAD, WALKS ON WATER, FIVE THOUSAND FED. I know! great huh?

CHAPTER 15, we are using 15 words to remember this chapter.  PHARISEES INSULTED, HEART OF MAN, CANAANITE WOMAN WITH CRUMBS UNDER THE TABLE, FOUR THOUSAND FED.( I'm going to change this one to just can't decide what to change it to.)

CHAPTER 16, We are using "GET BEHIND ME SATAN"  (16 LETTERS) This verse is known by Christians and non Christians alike. Jesus says this to Peter.

CHAPTER 17, remember TRANSFIGURATION, MARK 9, LUKE 9

Chapter 18, *** 18:9 ***If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. (the other was too hard even for me to remember so I decided that this verse was the most familiar to Christians and unbelievers alike.)

Chapter 19****  DIVORCE, HARD FOR A RICH MAN TO GET TO HEAVEN, THE DISCIPLES WILL JUDGE THE 12 TRIBES OF ISRAEL.**** 19 WORDS

Chapter 20** 20 words, LABORER  IN THE VINEYARD, DEATH AND RESURRECTION FORETOLD, MOTHER OF JAMES AND JOHN ASK FOR FAVOR, SIGHT FOR THE BLIND.

Chapter 21** 21 is T.E. time  (triumphal entry)

Chapter 22**VERSE 22:21 RENDER TO CAESAR THE THINGS THAT ARE CAESAR'S AND TO GOD THE THINGS THAT ARE GOD'S

Chapter 23** VERSE 23:23 (well part of it) WOE TO YOU SCRIBES AND PHARISEES

Chapter 24*** There are 24 hours in a day. No one knows the day or the hour***

Chapter 25**10 virgins and 15 talents equals 25*** The parables of the virgins with lamps and the buried talents is here.

Chapter 26*** Verse 26:26, "Take and eat this is my body"

Chapter 27*** verse 27:37, "This is Jesus the king of the Jews" it has 27 letters.





That's it for now.On to chapter28
God Bless