- Oct 13, 2009
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Greetings, dear friends, in the blessed Name of our Lord Jesus. I trust that this letter finds your soul and body prospering in the Lord. Many people havent the faintest idea what the Lord Jesus is talking about. Their minds always seem to be in the natural realm, and fail to grasp the deep spiritual truths imparted by the Lord. One of the reasons for this could be carnality (1 Cor 3:3), as such truths can only be discerned with a spiritual mind (Romans 8:7, 1 Cor 2:16). People like Albert Einstein eagerly sought to know Gods thoughts with their intellect, not realizing that God can only be understood through repentance and that too in Christ Jesus alone. So, how then do we understand God? This is the issue that I will address in this letter.
The text for my letter today is from Matthew 16:8-11. The Lord Jesus had just finished feeding five thousand men (not counting the women and children), and performed one of His tremendous miracles. The Lord then proceeds to a town near Magadan. It was here that Christ had yet another encounter with the Pharisees and Sadducees who demanded that He perform another miracle (Matthew 16:1) to satisfy their curiosity ( I suspect that is all it was, as they really had no firm desire to believe Him). The Lord would not give in to their demands (Matthew 16:4), nor did He have any doubts about His own ability or Divinity. He then instructs His disciples to be on guard against the hypocrisy and sham of the Pharisees which could corrupt entire households of faith (Matthew 16:6). The Lord uses the word yeast to signify the sort of parasite that this false teaching of the Pharisees (who only spoke a lot, and would agree with Gods commands without every bothering to implement them) was to genuine believers.
The disciples then confuse the Lords remarks to mean that He was referring to bread (Matthew 16:7). This indicates how earthy and natural these disciples were at that time (of course they hadnt received the Holy Spirit yet). The first thing the Lord Jesus does then is to rebuke them for their lack of faith (Matthew 16:8). Notice that due to His Divine wisdom, the Lord was able to detect the most intimate thoughts of the disciples. The Lord further rebukes them for their lack of understanding (Matthew 16:9). The disciples had obviously spent enough time with the Lord and witnessed many of His miracles, and should have had a strong faith in Him. Instead, they begin to grumble amongst themselves like pagans, which is an insult and abomination to the Lord. Ironically, just a few hours before this conversation, the Lord had fed five thousand men and many other women and children. Christ then reminds them of the same and criticizes them for their lack of faith (Matthew 16 : 9-11). The issue here then is not that the disciples were grumbling about the lack of bread, but that they didnt recognize the Divine Provider beside them. How dare the disciples grumble amongst themselves, when the Son of the God of the universe was beside them? This is a direct affront to the Lord Jesus. Patient as He always is, Christ proceeds to explain about the parasitic attitude of the Pharisees which had completely diluted true faith in God.
How then can we understand God, for we know that most people are this way? As He rebuked the disciples, the Lord Jesus affirmed that He had an unshakable faith in God (John 16:32), a faith that would not flinch even on the cross (John 19:30). Christ never despaired for food, clothing or shelter as most do, for He had manna from God that always fed Him (John 4:34). Unlike many, Christ never forgot the goodness of God or Gods provision in the past (Matthew 4:4), and was hence always confident (John 11:42) of Gods future provision (Matthew 26:53). The Lord Jesus Christ also had a perfect understanding of God and His will, even on the way to the cross (Matthew 26:45), because He never sought to do His will (John 5:30) but Gods will. The Lord Jesus was also always renewed in His mind (Romans 12:2), so that He could test and approve the perfect will of God. He was never wavering in His mind (James 1:6), and hence His prayers were always answered (John 11:22). This kind of spiritual perfection is impossible to attain, one may say. Ah, but there in lies the omnipotence of God Almighty who can do the impossible (Matthew 19:26).
My friend, are you scared and worried at the standard of perfection that Christ has presented before you? Anyone that falls short of the glory of God is in danger of being cast into the fires of hell (Romans 3:23). It is time to stop worrying, accept Gods grace, and make a decision to bow down before the Lord Jesus, who is indeed a better Man. Amen.
The text for my letter today is from Matthew 16:8-11. The Lord Jesus had just finished feeding five thousand men (not counting the women and children), and performed one of His tremendous miracles. The Lord then proceeds to a town near Magadan. It was here that Christ had yet another encounter with the Pharisees and Sadducees who demanded that He perform another miracle (Matthew 16:1) to satisfy their curiosity ( I suspect that is all it was, as they really had no firm desire to believe Him). The Lord would not give in to their demands (Matthew 16:4), nor did He have any doubts about His own ability or Divinity. He then instructs His disciples to be on guard against the hypocrisy and sham of the Pharisees which could corrupt entire households of faith (Matthew 16:6). The Lord uses the word yeast to signify the sort of parasite that this false teaching of the Pharisees (who only spoke a lot, and would agree with Gods commands without every bothering to implement them) was to genuine believers.
The disciples then confuse the Lords remarks to mean that He was referring to bread (Matthew 16:7). This indicates how earthy and natural these disciples were at that time (of course they hadnt received the Holy Spirit yet). The first thing the Lord Jesus does then is to rebuke them for their lack of faith (Matthew 16:8). Notice that due to His Divine wisdom, the Lord was able to detect the most intimate thoughts of the disciples. The Lord further rebukes them for their lack of understanding (Matthew 16:9). The disciples had obviously spent enough time with the Lord and witnessed many of His miracles, and should have had a strong faith in Him. Instead, they begin to grumble amongst themselves like pagans, which is an insult and abomination to the Lord. Ironically, just a few hours before this conversation, the Lord had fed five thousand men and many other women and children. Christ then reminds them of the same and criticizes them for their lack of faith (Matthew 16 : 9-11). The issue here then is not that the disciples were grumbling about the lack of bread, but that they didnt recognize the Divine Provider beside them. How dare the disciples grumble amongst themselves, when the Son of the God of the universe was beside them? This is a direct affront to the Lord Jesus. Patient as He always is, Christ proceeds to explain about the parasitic attitude of the Pharisees which had completely diluted true faith in God.
How then can we understand God, for we know that most people are this way? As He rebuked the disciples, the Lord Jesus affirmed that He had an unshakable faith in God (John 16:32), a faith that would not flinch even on the cross (John 19:30). Christ never despaired for food, clothing or shelter as most do, for He had manna from God that always fed Him (John 4:34). Unlike many, Christ never forgot the goodness of God or Gods provision in the past (Matthew 4:4), and was hence always confident (John 11:42) of Gods future provision (Matthew 26:53). The Lord Jesus Christ also had a perfect understanding of God and His will, even on the way to the cross (Matthew 26:45), because He never sought to do His will (John 5:30) but Gods will. The Lord Jesus was also always renewed in His mind (Romans 12:2), so that He could test and approve the perfect will of God. He was never wavering in His mind (James 1:6), and hence His prayers were always answered (John 11:22). This kind of spiritual perfection is impossible to attain, one may say. Ah, but there in lies the omnipotence of God Almighty who can do the impossible (Matthew 19:26).
My friend, are you scared and worried at the standard of perfection that Christ has presented before you? Anyone that falls short of the glory of God is in danger of being cast into the fires of hell (Romans 3:23). It is time to stop worrying, accept Gods grace, and make a decision to bow down before the Lord Jesus, who is indeed a better Man. Amen.
