Posts that reference the Gospel of Matthew

Respond Like Joseph

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. Matthew 1:24 (NIV)

We don’t know much about Joseph, just what Matthew tells us.
But it’s enough. Enough to show us we need to respond like Joseph.

In the gospel accounts, Joseph never speaks.

He listens and then he acts.

He hears God’s instructions and he obeys.

He learns the truth of who Jesus is and he reorders his life and priorities around that.

I have listened. I have heard God’s instructions and I know the truth of who Jesus is.

The question is… will I respond like Joseph?

Read more about Joseph GP: Joseph by Jon Wiseman

Jude is another short one chapter epistle, and like James, this one was written by Jesus' little brother. If the list in Matthew 13:55 was by age, Jude was the baby. He wrote a tight, yet passionate exhortation to guard against apostasy. Apostasy is a deliberate defection from the truth.

Some things to note as you read Jude:

What does he say about the apostates, their character, their tactics, their teaching, their influence in the church?

What advice does he give for guarding against apostasy?

What Old Testament people or situations does he refer to in order to make his case?

BONUS: How does Jude compare with 2 Peter on false teachers?

Next week: Revelation part 1

Run, Don’t Perform

By Paula Wiseman

I'm better runner than racer, which isn't saying much, but it is what it is. Last month, after carefully stretching and babying my knee, I signed up for a 5K. My previous best had been 35:19. (Not that great, I know.) For this race, my goal was to finish in under 35 minutes. Nothing too dramatic, but it would mean pushing my knee just a bit. So the night before the race I did the math and knew I needed to run better than 11:17 each mile to meet that goal.

Race day came and off we went. At mile 1, I checked my watch. Twelve minutes. Twelve. I would have to run well under eleven minutes for the next two miles to hit my goal. That's too fast. Crud. It was tempting… really tempting… to get monumentally discouraged at that point, and quit trying. My knee hurt. That's a legitimate reason (excuse) for a poor outing, right? But my son was running. And my husband. So I took a big deep breath and decided my new goal was to finish without walking, a good enough goal for the bad knee. The pressure was off. I ran relaxed.

Here's the thing. I finished the whole race in under 34 minutes. Almost a minute and a half faster than my best outing. My last two miles were under 10:30. I never run that fast. Never.

So what happened?

I stopped worrying about my performance and concentrated on finishing. I stopped measuring myself against external metrics and just ran the race laid out before me.

You can see the application, can't you? So many times I get caught up meeting artificial goals or performance indicators that I forget to just run. When I look around and decide where I should be in my Christian life at a given time and I don't make that, I get really discouraged. Jesus never put those demands on me. He never calls on me to compare myself to others or to a man-made standard.

The idea of performing or measuring to win or keep God's favor is contrary to the reality of His grace. Because Jesus Christ shed His blood on my behalf, I can run relaxed. The pressure's off. The victory is won. I just have to run the race laid out in front of me.

“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. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” Matthew 11:28-30 The Message

Thank you Jesus for rest

By Paula Wiseman

Thank you, Jesus, for rest.

Football game, driving lessons, state fair, piano recital, business meeting, birthday party, book release, two church services, grocery shopping, laundry, bills to pay… That was just the weekend. And it’s Monday again.

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)

Thank you, Jesus, for rest.

Help me be wise enough to take it

Temptation: Response

By Paula Wiseman

(Note: When I teach, I learn more than my students. This is the last of three Thursday posts about some things my boys and I learned as we studied Jesus' temptation.)

Matthew, Mark and Luke all relate the account of Jesus' temptation in the wilderness. While I love the affirmation that we have a Great High Priest who was tempted like we are (Hebrews 4:15) as I studied, I flipped this around.

Am I ever tempted like Jesus? Are there patterns or similarities I can draw from? So far I touched on the timing and substance of the temptations. Today we'll look at the response.

Matthew 4:1 says He was led into the wilderness by the Spirit. God was sovereignly in control of the situation. He wasn't about to let Jesus die of hunger. And Jesus knew this.

Jesus withstood the temptations because of His sustaining trust in God. He surrendered Himself fully to His Father, assured that God was good and would do good.

He trusted God's sovereignty.

Jesus responds to the first temptation by quoting a verse from Deuteronomy. "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." It's a subtle but powerfully humble statement of dependence on God. I can eat a perfect diet, but it is God and His purposes for me that determine whether I live or not.

He trusted God's character.

From Jesus' reply "You shall not tempt the Lord your God," we see He was affirming that God didn't need to prove Himself or give Him any special treatment. God would be faithful. He would honor the promises He'd made.

He trusted in God's holiness.

Jesus sent Satan away with the final assertion that God alone deserved worship.

Always before, I've looked at this story (and taught it) as an admonition or encouragement to know Scripture. "See, Jesus withstood those temptations because He quoted Scripture He had hidden in His heart." Familiarity and memorizing Scripture are great things. But His response was even bigger.

God was all sufficient. Jesus didn't need anything else in that moment or any other moment because of His rock-solid resting trust in His Father.

My best response in the face of temptation is to remove focus from myself and what I think I lack, and hold onto Almighty God with full trust in His sovereignty, His character and His holiness. That's how I can respond to temptation like Jesus.

Temptation: Substance

By Paula Wiseman

(Note: When I teach, I learn more than my students. This is the second of three Thursday posts about some things my boys and I learned as we studied Jesus' temptation.)

Am I ever tempted like Jesus? Are there patterns or similarities I can draw from? The first element I considered was timing. Next, I looked the substance.

He was tempted to turn stones into bread. He'd been fasting for 40 days and who wouldn't want to satisfy that basic human need under those circumstances. And yes I've been tempted, and given it, to eating things I shouldn't for quantity and content. However, this temptation is bigger than that. Am I ever tempted to let go of faith in favor of my comfort?

Jesus was tempted to throw Himself from the pinnacle of the temple and prove God's promises of protection. There's nothing wrong with taking God at His word and resting in His promises. In fact challenges us to do that. To trust Him. This wasn't about trust. This was a throwdown. Am I ever tempted to demand God prove Himself to me to earn my faith? Have I ever proposed that He do "this" THEN I'll respond?

Finally, Jesus was tempted to receive now instead of later. The kingdoms were His as part of God's eternal plan. Have I ever been tempted to shortcut God's plan? Have I chosen to make something or someone else the center of my life – even for a short time – to get what I wanted, what I believed I was entitled to? Have I ever decided there has to be a "better" (faster, easier) way to do things than the way God plainly laid out? Or to trade eternal rewards and blessings for temporary satisfaction?

Yes. To all of them.

Next week we'll look at the response to temptation.