October 11 - Matthew 13-15
God spoke to my heart about the importance of faith through this passage. I hope that you have spent a lot of time considering the importance of faith. Let's take a little time this morning to look at faith from this passage of God's Word.
When Jesus gives the parable of the sower in Matthew 13, His emphasis is really on the heart or the soil that receives the seed of God's Word. What prepares the soil to bear fruit? It is the presence of faith. If a person has faith, he will receive the Word of God and act on it. Then, God will produce fruit in his life. This is why Jesus used parables according to verses 10-17. If a person had faith, he would understand and act on the meaning of the parable, but if there was no faith, the truth would not stick into the hard heart. I think this is evident from Jesus' explanation of the parable in verses 18-23. In order to bear fruit a person must trust the Lord in everyday life and not just say he has faith in Jesus. After all, what is faith? It is trust in someone or something. It is not an entity in itself. A person is not blessed by having faith. A person is blessed because of having faith in Jesus and His Word. It is the object of the faith that counts. If a person has faith in himself or other people or even money, there is no fruit from the Lord.
I see this emphasis on faith in the entire passage. Faith in Jesus separates the wheat and the tares. A lack of faith in Jesus caused the people of Nazareth to miss the miracles of Jesus. In chapter 14 John the Baptist is killed by Herod. Why was he so angry with John telling him the truth about his adultery? It was because he did not trust the Word of God. What was Jesus doing in the miracle of feeding the five thousand? Was He just feeding people? No, He was feeding the faith of His disciples. That is why there was 12 baskets full left over. Then, what enabled Peter to walk on the water? It was faith in Jesus. When he looked at the waves and heard the wind, his faith slipped away just like Jesus said in the parable of the sower about the persecution and the cares of this world.
In chapter 15 the passage speaks about what defiles a person. Jesus includes a prophecy from Isaiah reminding us that the trouble with the people was that their hearts were far from Him. (v.8) If they had drawn near to Him through faith, they would have had a change of heart, and they would have seen that it was what comes out of the mouth that defiles, instead of what goes in. Also, the Gentile woman was blessed because of her "great faith." She would not give up on Jesus, because she was convinced He was the Messiah. Finally, the feeding of the four thousand was another miracle to feed the faith of the disciples. Why did He need to do that type of miracle a second time? Faith is like a mustard seed. It starts out small, but it grows into a tree of faith that is strong and fruitful.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Matthew 16-18.
When Jesus gives the parable of the sower in Matthew 13, His emphasis is really on the heart or the soil that receives the seed of God's Word. What prepares the soil to bear fruit? It is the presence of faith. If a person has faith, he will receive the Word of God and act on it. Then, God will produce fruit in his life. This is why Jesus used parables according to verses 10-17. If a person had faith, he would understand and act on the meaning of the parable, but if there was no faith, the truth would not stick into the hard heart. I think this is evident from Jesus' explanation of the parable in verses 18-23. In order to bear fruit a person must trust the Lord in everyday life and not just say he has faith in Jesus. After all, what is faith? It is trust in someone or something. It is not an entity in itself. A person is not blessed by having faith. A person is blessed because of having faith in Jesus and His Word. It is the object of the faith that counts. If a person has faith in himself or other people or even money, there is no fruit from the Lord.
I see this emphasis on faith in the entire passage. Faith in Jesus separates the wheat and the tares. A lack of faith in Jesus caused the people of Nazareth to miss the miracles of Jesus. In chapter 14 John the Baptist is killed by Herod. Why was he so angry with John telling him the truth about his adultery? It was because he did not trust the Word of God. What was Jesus doing in the miracle of feeding the five thousand? Was He just feeding people? No, He was feeding the faith of His disciples. That is why there was 12 baskets full left over. Then, what enabled Peter to walk on the water? It was faith in Jesus. When he looked at the waves and heard the wind, his faith slipped away just like Jesus said in the parable of the sower about the persecution and the cares of this world.
In chapter 15 the passage speaks about what defiles a person. Jesus includes a prophecy from Isaiah reminding us that the trouble with the people was that their hearts were far from Him. (v.8) If they had drawn near to Him through faith, they would have had a change of heart, and they would have seen that it was what comes out of the mouth that defiles, instead of what goes in. Also, the Gentile woman was blessed because of her "great faith." She would not give up on Jesus, because she was convinced He was the Messiah. Finally, the feeding of the four thousand was another miracle to feed the faith of the disciples. Why did He need to do that type of miracle a second time? Faith is like a mustard seed. It starts out small, but it grows into a tree of faith that is strong and fruitful.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Matthew 16-18.