Posts that reference the Gospel of Matthew

Get Out of the Boat

Last night, our pastor preached from Matthew 14, where Jesus walks on the water out to the boat full of disciples in the middle of a storm. It’s one of my favorite stories. Four of those twelve guys were fishermen and had no doubt seen their share of storms on the Sea of Galilee. The other eight, however, were complete landlubbers and probably didn’t even know how to swim. Now imagine being terrified, seasick, cold and wet. It’s somewhere between three and six o’clock in the morning, you see a … man (?) Jesus (?) walking (?) out to you. Then he says something completely crazy. “Be of good cheer! I AM; do not be afraid.” Yeah right. Be of good cheer? If the disciples weren’t so miserable they would’ve caught what Jesus said to them – I AM. In English, it gets translated,”It is I”, but in the original, Jesus says the same words God said to Moses. This was HUGE. I AM [JEHOVAH].

Then Peter does the unthinkable. “Lord, if that’s really You, call me out there on the water with You.” And Jesus did. Then Peter did. Imagine sitting in that boat, listening to this exchange. Peter wants to go OUT of the boat. We’re about to drown IN the boat. Why would he want OUT?

Because Peter got it. There’s a storm. It’s beyond what I can handle. My own ideas of what’s safe and secure (the boat)are failing me. I want to be where Jesus is. It’s calm where Jesus is. That’s where peace and safety is. I’m not gonna wait for Him to come to my boat. I’m going to Him.

And Peter walked on water. Sure, he sank after a little bit, and Jesus had to grab him, but what about the nameless guys in the boat? What about the “they”, and “them” who sat and watched it all? They all worshipped Jesus when He got in the boat, but Peter worshipped Him before that. Jesus didn’t have to calm the storm before Peter knew Jesus was God.

So many times, I’m a “they” hiding out in the back of the boat, trying to handle things the best way I know how, never admitting that my boat is taking on water. Jesus has already said, “I’m here.” How much longer am I gonna stay cold and wet, tired and scared, before I realize I need to be where Jesus is? How long before I get out of the boat?

j0289274 Last night, our pastor preached from Matthew 14, where Jesus walks on the water out to the boat full of disciples in the middle of a storm. It’s one of my favorite stories. Four of those twelve guys were fishermen and had no doubt seen their share of storms on the Sea of Galilee. The other eight, however, were complete landlubbers and probably didn’t even know how to swim. Now imagine being terrified, seasick, cold and wet. It’s somewhere between three and six o’clock in the morning, you see a … man (?) Jesus (?) walking (?) out to you. Then he says something completely crazy. “Be of good cheer! I AM; do not be afraid.” Yeah right. Be of good cheer? If the disciples weren’t so miserable they would’ve caught what Jesus said to them – I AM. In English, it gets translated,”It is I”, but in the original, Jesus says the same words God said to Moses. This was HUGE. I AM [JEHOVAH].

Why Study? Jesus’ Answer

By Paula

After giving a series of parables, Jesus asked His disciples if they understood His words. They answered that they did, and He replied:

(MSG) [Jesus] said, “Then you see how every student well-trained in God’s kingdom is like the owner of a general store who can put his hands on anything you need, old or new, exactly when you need it.” Matthew 13:52

In that simple statement, Jesus answers the question of why we need to study. God has a storehouse of wisdom and instruction in His Word- Old and New Testament- that covers the range of human experiences. Studying helps us find the answers we need AND the answers for others who come to us for insight.

The Holy Spirit stands ready to help us absorb, interpret and apply all these things, but He won’t unless we apply ourselves to learning.

1205099_33832717 After giving a series of parables, Jesus asked His disciples if they understood His words. They answered that they did, and He replied:

The Holy Spirit stands ready to help us absorb, interpret and apply all these things, but He won’t unless we apply ourselves to learning.

Busyness

By Paula

My calendar filled up all the sudden. The older kids are in a play this spring and practice has begun. We’ve added voice lessons to our weekly routine. Homeschool PE moves to the pool at the college for a swimming unit. What was manageable last week suddenly got nuts.

Times like this are especially challenging for me. It seems if the pressure mounts to get everything done, I start having trouble getting anything done. I lose perspective. I lose focus and I end up spinning my wheels.

Jesus says “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest… Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” (The Message)

This is what I’m working on for the next few weeks.

BIC040 Just a quick post today. My calendar filled up all the sudden. The older kids are in a play this spring and practice has begun. We’ve added voice lessons to our weekly routine. Homeschool PE moves to the pool at the college for a swimming unit. What was manageable last week suddenly got nuts.

Freely and lightly. Yes!

Study Tip: Chapter Breaks

By Paula

When God inspired men to write His words, divisions for chapters and verses were NOT included in that divine revelation. In fact, it was hundreds of years before those were added. I’ve heard one story that a monk rode his donkey while he copied the Scripture. Whenever the donkey’s gait caused the monk’s pen to jerk, that became a new verse. Whatever method was used, the man-made system is sometimes less than perfect. Sometimes, if we get away from the chapter divisions, we see some fresh connections.For example, my Sunday school kids have studied these verses in the last couple of weeks-

When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

(That’s Matthew 3:16-17 and 4:1) Of course, we studied the baptism of Jesus one week and the temptation the following week. And of course, these are two separate incidents, but the chapter break may prevent us from realizing the connection between the two events. God the Father had identified Jesus as the Messiah, the sacrifice for sins. Now the Lamb was going to be examined to ensure that He was without any blemish or defect. He would be tested to prove He was an acceptable sacrifice. Matthew’s whole point in writing a gospel was to demonstrate that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament, that He fulfilled all of God’s law.

Matthew 4 into 5 is another example of a bad break. Chapter 5 begins “And seeing the multitudes…” And? You can’t start a chapter with ‘and’… What multitudes? Where’d they come from? The end of chapter 4 tells you that Jesus healed a bunch of folks and so huge crowds were following Him from Galilee, Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and beyond Jordan…” (We’ll save the geography lesson for some other time.)

As you study, watch the words at the beginning of a chapter and notice how they connect to what precedes them.