Matthew 15:29 says, And Jesus departed from thence, and came nigh unto the sea of Galilee; and went up into a mountain, and sat down there.  Jesus was once more on a mountain, looking for some time with His Father, just as we at times need time alone with God.  Verse thirty states, And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus’ feet; and he healed them:  The multitudes were still coming to Jesus, and bringing those who had all kinds of physical ailments.  Jesus did not send them away, but healed them.  It is good to bring those who are ailing physically to Jesus in prayer, but it is even more important to bring those who are ailing spiritually.  We cannot assume that Jesus will always heal our physical ailments, but we can be sure that He will heal our spiritual ailments if we come to Him in faith.  Verse thirty-one declares, Insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see: and they glorified the God of Israel.  When the multitude saw all these people being healed, they glorified the God of Israel.  This should be our reaction anytime God does something miraculous in our lives today.  We need to always give God the credit and the praise.  Verse thirty-two states, Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way.  Once more, the multitudes were following Jesus, putting this above their own needs.  They had followed Jesus for three days, and they had nothing to eat.  Jesus had compassion on them and told the disciples that He would not send them away fasting.  When we come to Jesus with our concerns, getting to Him by faith must come above all else.  Jesus will never send us away without filling us spiritually.  Verse thirty-three says, And his disciples say unto him, Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude?  The disciples once again questioned Jesus, asking how were they going to feed such a great multitude in the wilderness.  Of course, the answer was by having faith in Jesus.  When God tells us to do something, we should have faith that He will enable us to do whatever He tells us to do.  Our answer should first be, "Yes, Lord," and then we might ask Him to show us how.  Verse thirty-four says, And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes.  Jesus asked the disciples what they had, just as God today may use what we have to accomplish His will.  The disciples said they had seven loaves and a few small fish.  What they saw as insignificant, Jesus saw as enough.  We can only bring to God what we have, but we can also rely on Him to make it enough.  Verse thirty-five declares, And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.  When the disciples had the crowd to sit, there were still just seven loaves and a few small fish.  If we expect a miracle, we must first do what God tells us to do, acting in faith that He will enable us to do whatever He asks.  Verse thirty-six says, And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.  Like Jesus, if we are to accomplish miraculous things, then we must first thank God for what we have and ask Him to bless it.  Verse thirty-seven declares, And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full. Once more, Jesus more than met the needs of the people.  Their was a basket full left over for each loaf.  These were not wasted, just as we must not waste the things that God blesses us with today.  Verse thirty-eight states, And they that did eat were four thousand men, beside women and children.  Some people say that this is just a retelling of the feeding of the five thousand with some of the details a little different, but since Matthew was there and was writing about it inspired by the Holy Spirit, I believe it was a separate miracle.  Just because the disciples had seen Jesus do something similar before did not mean that they had faith in Him to do it again.  Sometimes, as followers of Christ, just because we have seen Jesus do something miraculous in our lives in the past doesn't mean that we automatically accept that He will again, though it should.  Verse thirty-nine says, And he sent away the multitude, and took ship, and came to the coasts of Magdala.  Having feed them, Jesus sent them away and once again left by ship.  Once Jesus meets our needs, He will send us out into the world to do His will, or more accurately, as we are sent out into the world by God, He will meet our needs.  We simply have to go in faith.

Matthew 15:21 says, Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon.  Matthew Henry says that Jesus went to the coasts in this area controlled by Israel, and not into the cities themselves.  Whatever His reason for going there, Jesus was going to encounter a woman in distress.  Verse twenty-two states, And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.  A woman of Canaan came crying out to Jesus.  She was not an Israelite, but she acknowledged Jesus as Lord and the Son of David.  She recognized Who Jesus was even more than the religious leaders of Israel did, and she had faith in His ability to help her.  It is not enough to simply acknowledge that Jesus may have been a real person, but we must acknowledge Him as the Messiah, the Savior of all who believe in Him for Him to change our lives.  Verse twenty-three states, But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.  Jesus did not answer the woman, which might seem cruel on His part, but I believe that He was simply using this as an opportunity to further teach His disciples about faith.  The disciples said send her away, basically because she was bothering them.  Hopefully, we do not send people away who are seeking Christ today simply because they are bothering us.  In verse twenty-four Jesus said, But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.  Jesus's first concern was for the lost sheep of Israel.  I believe that had He been effective in reaching them, then they would have reached the world with the gospel, but they had already failed in their purpose of reaching out to others.  Verse twenty-five states, Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.  The woman would not be turned away.  She had faith in Jesus' ability to heal her daughter.  We need that same type faith today.  We should not allow anything to keep us from getting to Jesus with our problems.  In verse twenty-six Jesus says, But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs.  This would have gotten Jesus in trouble today, most likely, because the statement is not politically correct.  Jesus referred to the people of Israel as children and Gentiles as dogs, which was what they were often called.  I believe that Jesus was attempting to see what her reaction, and the reaction of the disciples, would be.  Verse twenty-seven says, And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.  The woman did not become offended and berate Jesus or storm away in a huff.  She simply said that even dogs were allowed scraps from their master's table.  She knew that even scraps from Jesus, as it were, were enough to heal her daughter, and acknowledged that He was her Master.  We cannot afford to allow our pride to come between Jesus and us.  Verse twenty-eight declares, Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.  Jesus praised the woman for her faith, and He also healed her daughter.  Jesus did not just praise her faith and send her away.  He also granted her request.  If we want Jesus to answer our prayers today, we must first have faith that He can answer them.  Then, we must not allow anything to come between Jesus and us.  Finally, we must ask in accordance with God's will and accept His answer, even if the answer is not what we want it to be.

Matthew 15:12 says, Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying?  The disciples, I believe, asked Jesus this question because they were worried about what the Pharisees might do.  We have to acknowledge that the Pharisees were seen as some of the most righteous and powerful religious leaders, and Jesus had upset them.  No matter how powerful a religious leader or group of religious leaders may be, if they are morally wrong, we, like Jesus did, must point out their errors without fear.  Verse thirteen states, But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.  In effect, Jesus was saying that the Pharisees were not planted by God.  They had faith in their own goodness and righteous, instead of acknowledging their own unworthiness.  If our salvation is not planted by God by our faith in Jesus Christ, then in the end we will be uprooted.  If we attempt to justify ourselves by self-righteous, then we are just like the Pharisees, and that is totally lost.  In verse fourteen Jesus declares, Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.  Jesus told the disciples to just leave the Pharisees alone, that they were the spiritually blind leading the spiritually blind.  I know that the word spiritually was not stated, but that was the implication.  People who are not spiritually blind, who are followers of Christ in other words, should never be able to be led astray by someone who is spiritually blind.  Jesus said both the Pharisees and those who followed them would fall into a ditch, or be destroyed in other words.  Verse fifteen says, Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable.  Now, instead of being concerned with the Pharisees, Peter was concerned with what Jesus was actually telling the disciples.  We can never allow our concern for what other people may think, even powerful people of the world, to keep us from seeking God's word for us.  We must obey God's teaching above all else.  Verse sixteen declares, And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding?  Jesus wanted to know if Peter was also without understanding, as the Pharisees were.  I wonder how often Jesus may ask that of His followers today.  When we accept immorality and corruption as being okay as long as we get what we want, I believe that He is.  If morality does not matter in every aspect of life then why did Jesus live and die to establish it as the way of life.  Verse seventeen asks, Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?  Jesus asked the disciples didn't they understand that what they ate or drank simply passed through the body.  Jesus was telling us basically that we cannot be spiritually defiled by what we eat or drink.  I know this doesn't say drink in particular, but it does say what enters our mouth.  Yet, we should not allow what we eat or drink to harm our witness for Christ, as Paul would later teach.  Verse eighteen declares, But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.  Jesus tells us it is what we say that defiles us, because our words reveal what is in our heart.  We cannot just dismiss a person's words as locker room talk, because if a person's heart is right with God, then there will be no locker room talk.  Verse nineteen continues, For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:  Jesus tells us that evil actions proceed from evil thoughts.  Jesus listed several acts of evil that result from evil thoughts, and all show that a person's thoughts are not on doing the will of God.  Verse twenty says, These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.  I believe that Jesus was simply saying that eating without a ritualistic hand washing, as prescribed by additions to God's law, did not defile a person, because it had nothing to do with the spiritual condition of a person.  We cannot put rituals or traditions ahead of having the will of God determining our actions.

Matthew 15:1 says, Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying,  The scribes and Pharisees were also following Jesus, but they weren't doing so because they believed in Him.  They were following looking for ways to discredit Him.  Some people are the same way with Christians today, watching everything they do hoping to discredit their faith.  Verse two states, Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.  Again, the scribes and Pharisees were attempting to discredit the disciples based on the tradition of the elders.  I don't believe that it was just a physical washing of the hands that they were referring to, but some spiritual relationship that been added to the hand washing.  Either way, we must be careful not to judge people by tradition instead of judging them by their relationship to Christ.  Not all Christians worship and live the same way, but that doesn't make them less of a Christian.  Verse three declares, But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?  The scribes and Pharisees had questioned the disciples actions based on tradition, and Jesus asked them why they transgressed the commandment of God based on their tradition.  We can never allow tradition to become more important than the commandments of God.  In verse four Jesus says, For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.  Jesus simply stated one of the Ten Commandments, which should have been very familiar to the scribes and Pharisees.  If we have a dispute with other Christians, then we should first see what the Bible has to say about the issue.  In verse five Jesus continues, But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me;  Jesus now adds what the tradition had become.  If a person declared what he did for his parents a gift, and not a requirement of the Ten Commandments, then he could say that his parents were indebted to him.  We cannot change God's law to suit our purposes.  In verse six Jesus says, And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.  Jesus said that when someone made what they did for their parents more of a debt, then they could feel free to not honor them.  This put tradition above the law of God.  We do not need to look for ways to avoid God's law, but for ways to keep it.  In verse seven Jesus declares, Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,  Once more, Jesus referred to the scripture, particularly a prophecy by Isaiah.  When we disagree with other people who profess to be followers of Christ, we need to make sure that our position is based on scripture, and not on some tradition that has become a part of our worship.  Verse eight declares, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.  Jesus tells us that like the scribes and Pharisees, we cannot be right with God without a change of heart.  Simply professing Christ with empty words and vain, or meaningless, traditions is not enough.  In verse nine Jesus continues, But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.  Jesus said the scribes and Pharisees worshipped Him in vain, because they taught the commandments of man for doctrine.  Once more, we cannot allow the teachings or traditions of the world to take priority over the teachings of God.  Empty worship is not enough, but the word of God, empowered by the Holy Spirit, must be our guide.  Verse ten declares, And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand:  Jesus called the multitudes to hear and understand, then verse eleven tells them what, stating, not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.  Jesus said that what we say defiles us more than what we eat or drink, when what we say is not based on God's word.  The scribes and Pharisees were more concerned with ritual and tradition than they were with the word of God, and as followers of Christ, we must never allow ourselves to be the same as they were.

Matthew 14:22 says, And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away.  Jesus sent His disciples by ship to the other side of the sea.  We must always be willing to go where Jesus sends us, even if it is away from the site of a great miracle.  Verse twenty-three says, And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.  Jesus first sent His disciples away, and then He sent the multitudes away and went up the mountain alone to pray.   Jesus could have stayed with His disciples and the multitude and have received praise for what He had done, but this was not His purpose in coming.  Jesus needed time alone to pray, and no matter how effective we may be in sharing the gospel, or meeting the needs of people, we need time alone to pray.  Verse twenty-four says, But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.  The disciples experienced a storm on the ship.  We can expect to experience some adversity when we are doing what God leads us to do.  The disciples were where Jesus told them to be, and that alone should have given them peace.  Verse twenty-five declares, And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.  The stormy sea was nothing to Jesus, and He came to the disciples walking on water.  In our stormy seas, the Holy Spirit is already with us, so we don't have to look for Jesus walking toward us on the water.  Verse twenty-six says, And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.  The disciples did not recognize Jesus, and they were afraid.  These are the people who were the closest to Jesus, and they did not recognize Him.  As followers of Christ, we should be the people closest to Jesus, and hopefully we will never fail to recognize Him when He comes to us in our storms of life.  We can only do so by faith, though, and not by sight.  In verse twenty-seven Jesus says, But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.  Jesus is always ready to answer our concerns.  We are told that Jesus spoke to them straightaway, or immediately.  Jesus does not leave us lingering in doubt if we will simply look to Him in faith.  Verse twenty-eight says, And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.  Peter did not state that he knew it was Jesus.  Peter said that if it was Jesus, to bid him to come to Him.  When we have doubts, we simply need to ask Jesus to bid us to come to Him in faith that He is indeed able to keep us safe.  Verse twenty-nine states, And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.  If we ask Jesus to bid us to come to Him, we must be willing to go.  Jesus said come, and Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water.  Too often, especially when we are already afraid, as the disciples were, we simply stay in the boat when Jesus says come.  If we ask Jesus to tell us to do something, and He tells us to do it, then we must step out by faith.  Verse thirty says, But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.  Peter stepped out by faith, but he nearly drowned by sight.  He ceased to see Jesus, and saw the boisterous wind instead.  We need to always keep our focus on Jesus, or the storms around us may begin to drown our faith.  At least Peter knew the answer to his fears, and cried out for Jesus to save him.   Verse thirty-one states, And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?  Jesus immediately rescued Peter, as He will us, if we call out to Him,  when life seems to be about to drown us.  Then Jesus asked Peter why he had so little faith that he doubted.  It is not enough to have the faith to step out of the boat on the stormy sea.  We must have the faith to sustain us when we get out and start toward Jesus.  Verse thirty-two states,  And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.  We are told that Jesus caught Peter and they returned to the ship, and then the wind ceased.  Until Peter got back to the boat, the seas were still stormy, but the difference was that he was with Jesus, I believe both physically and by faith.  Peter had to believe that Jesus would keep him safe, just as we must in the storms of life today.  The storm may not immediately cease, but we must have faith that we are safe as long as we put our faith in Jesus.  Verse thirty-three states, Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.  Those on the ship, which were the other disciples and the people who operated the ship most likely, came and worshipped Jesus.  They proclaimed Jesus to be the Son of God.  Those who follow Christ are not the only ones to witness miracles, and sometimes miracles lead others to believe in Jesus.  Verse thirty-four says,  And when they were gone over, they came into the land of Gennesaret.  Then verse thirty five continues,  And when the men of that place had knowledge of him, they sent out into all that country round about, and brought unto him all that were diseased;  Jesus had sent the disciples across the sea to escape the multitudes, but news of His arrival spread.  We today are to spread the good news of Christ, but I am not sure that we do it as well as it was done in Jesus's day when He was not yet ready for His disciples to point people to Him.  Verse thirty-six states,  And besought him that they might only touch the hem of his garment: and as many as touched were made perfectly whole.  Their faith was so great that they felt if they could just touch the hem of Jesus' garment that they would be made whole, and they were.  It wasn't the touching of the garment, but their faith in the power of Jesus that made them whole.  We need that same faith today.

Matthew 14:14 says, And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.  Jesus had withdrawn from the multitudes, but they still gathered where He was.  It is too bad that people today do not have that same desire to come to Jesus.  When Jesus saw the multitudes, He had compassion on them.  We know that Jesus always has a spiritual compassion for people, but I believe that it is safe to say that He also has a compassion for their physical suffering.  Verse fifteen states, And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals.  His disciples came to Jesus and told Him to send the multitude away into the villages so they could buy food.  Instead of telling Jesus what to do, they should have been asking what He wanted them to do.  We cannot come to Jesus with our concerns and attempt to tell Him how to react to them.  The disciples saw the physical situation without looking to Jesus in faith.  We may miss a miracle because we think we have the answer without looking to God for the answer to our problems.  Verse sixteen says, But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat.  Jesus said let them stay and feed them.  The disciples were likely questioning Jesus' decision.  When we limit God to what we can physically see, then we, like the disciples of Jesus, are living by sight and not by faith.  Verse seventeen says, And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes.  The disciples were still living by sight instead of faith.  Jesus had instructed the disciples to feed the multitude, but they only saw five loaves and two fish.  Often today, we as followers of Christ may believe that He is leading us to do something, but we look at what we have and decide it can't be done.  Verse eighteen declares, He said, Bring them hither to me.  The disciples were told to bring the five loaves and two fish to Jesus.  That should be our instruction today.  When we believe that God is instructing us to do something, instead of looking at what we don't have, we should simply bring what we do have to Him.  Verse nineteen states, And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.  The multitudes also had to follow the instructions of Jesus.  We cannot always help people, because they refuse to listen to what they need to do.  After the people were seated, Jesus looked to heaven and blessed the food, then He broke it and gave it to His disciples, and they gave it to the multitude.  We must first look to heaven if we expect miraculous things to happen.  Then, like the disciples, we must start acting by faith.  The number of loaves and fish had not increased, but the disciples began to pass the food to the people.  Verse twenty says, And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full.  Not only were the people filled, but there were twelve baskets of leftovers.  We can rely on God to abundantly meet our needs, but we often aren't satisfied with that, and want Him to fulfill our wants or desires as well.  Verse twenty-one says,  And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children.  This was indeed a large crowd who experienced a miracle, but I have to wonder where they were when Jesus was arrested and crucified.  It is not enough to simply follow Christ for material reasons.  We must follow in faith, to the cross and beyond.

Matthew 14:1 says, At that time Herod the tetrarch heard of the fame of Jesus,  The fame of Jesus reached Herod the tetarch.  As the ruler, Herod would have been interested about anyone he might have seen as a threat to his rule.  People today may feel that their position in the world is threatened if they accept the truth of the gospel.  Verse two says, And said unto his servants, This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead; and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him.  Herod thought that Jesus was John the Baptist come back from the dead.  John the Baptist did not have this power, though Herod evidently did not know that.  Verse three states, For Herod had laid hold on John, and bound him, and put him in prison for Herodias’ sake, his brother Philip’s wife.  Herod had John the Baptist imprisoned at the request of Herodias, his sister-in-law.  Verse four adds, For John said unto him, It is not lawful for thee to have her.  Herod had imprisoned John the Baptist because he had pointed out Herod's sinful relationship with Herodias, at her request.  Some people today attempt to arrest, or at least discredit, those who speak out against their sins.  Verse five declares, And when he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet.  Herod would have put John the Baptist to death, had he not feared the multitudes who followed him.  It would be nice if we, as Christians, had that same power over the rulers of the world today, but we never will.  Verse six says, But when Herod’s birthday was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced before them, and pleased Herod.  On Herod's birthday, Herodias' daughter danced for him and he was pleased by it.  There may be things today that please us, but at the same time lead us away from God.  If so, instead of enjoying them, we must turn away from them and turn toward God.  Verse seven states, Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she would ask.  Herod made a promise without really considering the outcome.  He was bound by his word as the ruler.  We cannot afford to make binding promises simply because something pleases us.  We must consider how our promise will affect our relationship with God.  Verse eight declares, And she, being before instructed of her mother, said, Give me here John Baptist’s head in a charger.  At the instructions of her mother, the daughter of Herodias asked for the head of John the Baptist on a server.  Herod had been admonished by John the Baptist because of his relationship with Herodias, and this was her chance at revenge.  Evidently, John the Baptist being in prison was not enough for her, possibly because he could still speak out against the relationship.  Some people today are not satisfied until those who proclaim the word of God are completely silenced.  Verse nine states, And the king was sorry: nevertheless for the oath’s sake, and them which sat with him at meat, he commanded it to be given her.  Herod regretted his promise, but because he was bound by his oath, he ordered that it be carried out.  Before we make promises to anyone, no matter how much we like them, we must consider the consequences.  Herod allowed his promise to overcome what he knew was wrong.  Being sorry for what we are going to do and yet still doing it is not enough.  Verse ten says, And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison.  Herod was true to his word, which might be an admirable quality, if it were not for the fact that he was doing something very wrong.  Being a person of our word is not a good thing when our word is wrong.  Verse eleven says, And his head was brought in a charger, and given to the damsel: and she brought it to her mother.  I believe that we can say that neither the daughter nor Herodias had any real desire for the head.  Herodias simply wanted John the Baptist dead, but she really freed him from all prison walls when she was able to get him killed.  Whatever happens to us in this life, death frees us from all problems and pain.  Verse twelve states, And his disciples came, and took up the body, and buried it, and went and told Jesus.  The disciples of John the Baptist took his body and buried it, and then went and told Jesus what happened.  When something bad happens to someone we love, all we can do is look to Jesus for guidance and comfort.  The disciples of John the Baptist may have thought that Jesus would take action against Herod, but they had to simply be satisfied with telling Him what happened.  We can never dictate how God should react in any situation, but must be satisfied with simply bringing our concerns to Him and accept His answer.  Verse thirteen states, When Jesus heard of it, he departed thence by ship into a desert place apart: and when the people had heard thereof, they followed him on foot out of the cities.  On hearing the news, Jesus withdrew by ship to a desert place apart from the people, yet they followed Him by foot out of the cities.  Jesus withdrawing may not have been the action the people expected, but they were following Him.  When we follow Jesus, and something happens that we think He should take action on, our best reaction when we share our concerns with Him is to simply keep following Him.

Matthew 13:45 says, Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:  Then continuing in verse forty six, Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.  Jesus was still teaching in parables, and we must interpret what He is telling us.  Jesus was not speaking about gaining earthly riches, but the pearl is the gospel, and people should be willing to leave all their material possessions to gain the gospel.  We cannot allow the things of this world, no matter how rich we may be in them, to come between the gospel and us.  Verse forty seven states, Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind:  Then continuing in verse forty eight, Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away.   Jesus tells us that a fisherman cannot determine which fish he will catch, but brings all in the net into the boat and then separates the good fish from the bad.  Again, this is not about fishing, as Jesus explains in the next verse.  Verse forty-nine states, So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, Jesus said there is a coming judgment when all people will be gathered like the fish in the net, and the angels will sort the good from the bad.  The good will be those who have accepted Christ, and the bad will be those who have rejected Him.  As I have stated before, there is no neutral ground.  Verse fifty declares, And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.  Those who have rejected Christ will be sent away to everlasting punishment.  Verse fifty one says, Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord.  Just as Jesus asked His disciples then if they understood what He was saying, we must ask ourselves the same thing today.  We must accept the truth of the gospel.  Verse fifty-two says, Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.  I believe that Jesus was referring to our understanding both the Old and New Testament if we are to be faithful followers.  God is the same God in both, and His plan for salvation is the same in both.  Verse fifty-three says, And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence.  When Jesus had finished teaching, He left.  Jesus was limited by His physical being, but as followers of Christ, we have the Holy Spirit living in us Who will never depart.  Verse fifty-four says, And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?  Jesus went to His home country, and the people began to question His wisdom and His works.  Sometimes, those closest to the church are those who fail to believe that Christ is Who He says He is.  In verse fifty-five they ask, Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?  The people of His country only saw Jesus in earthly terms, as a carpenter's Son, whose mother and brothers they knew.  It is not enough to acknowledge Jesus as a person without acknowledging Him as the only begotten Son of God and the Savior of mankind.  Verse fifty-six further asks, And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?  Jesus also had sisters that were still there, so the people asked how could He do all these things.  Again, we cannot just see Jesus in physical terms, but must accept Him by a spiritual understanding.  Verse fifty-seven states, And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house.  Those who knew Jesus in only an earthly way were offended by Him.  Jesus told them the a prophet often has no honor in His own country, because the people only see him in earthly terms.  Verse fifty-eight declares, And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.  Belief was and is always the key to miracles.  If we only see Jesus as a man and not as Savior and Lord of our lives, then He can never do great things for and through us.

Matthew 13:34 says, All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:  Jesus taught the multitudes in parables.  He was not attempting to hide the truth, but was simply speaking to them in simple terms that they could understand.  We, as followers of Christ today need to speak to the lost in terms that they can understand, under the leadership of the Holy Spirit.  Verse thirty-five says, That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.  By speaking in parables, Jesus also fulfilled another prophecy about the coming Messiah.  Since the book of Matthew was not written as a daily diary, but was written as an account of the life of Jesus after His death, burial and resurrection, Matthew likely saw the use of parables as the fulfillment of a prophecy.  Verse thirty-six states, Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.  Jesus once again withdrew from the multitudes.  He once again was spending time with His closest disciples.  We can be thankful that none who seek Christ today will be sent away.  When Jesus was on the earth, He was limited by His physical body, but today there are no limitations on the Holy Spirit, Who is the Comforter sent by Christ after His death and resurrection.  The disciples asked Jesus to help them understand the parable of the tares of the field.  Like the disciples, if we have a problem understanding God's word, we simply need to ask for the ability to understand what God is saying to us.  I believe that we can best get the answer to our questions when we take the time to withdraw from the multitudes and the cares of this world.  Starting in verse thirty-seven, Jesus answered, He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;   Jesus told the disciples that the One Who sowed the good seed was the Son of man, or Jesus Himself.  Jesus sowed the good seed of salvation for all the world.  Verse thirty-eight states, The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;  Jesus' redemptive plan is for the whole world, but it has to be accepted to be of benefit.  The good seed, which would include anyone who puts their faith in Christ, are the children of the kingdom of God, and the tares are anyone who refuse to believe in Christ.  As I have said before, there are only two possibilities, we are either saved by faith in Christ, or we are doomed to eternal separation from Him.  Verse thirty-nine says, The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.  Jesus makes it clear that the Devil does exist, and that he is determined to destroy the gospel.  There will always be half-truths and lies that attempt to destroy the truth of the gospel.  Verse forty states, As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.  Jesus tells us that at the end of the world all these attempts by the Devil and those who follow him to destroy the gospel will themselves be gathered and burned away by fire.  Verse forty-one says, The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;  The angels will be sent by Christ to remove everything that offends God and all iniquity.  I believe that some things will even have to be removed from the lives of the followers of Christ, because in this world we never become perfectly obedient.  Verse forty-two declares, And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.  As I have stated before, there are only two possibilities of where a person will spend eternity, heaven or hell.  We make the choice by either accepting salvation through Christ or rejecting it.  Jesus tells us here that hell will be a place of torment.  Then, verse forty-three declares, Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.  We can spend our everlasting life in either heaven in the kingdom of God, or in bell, the kingdom of the devil.  Jesus tells us to hear the truth of His word.

Matthew 13:24 says, Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:  Jesus continued to teach using parables.  There was nothing mysterious and difficult to understand when Jesus taught, and there shouldn't be when we present the gospel today.  Sometimes, we seem to want to show off our intelligence or education more than we want to present the simple message of the gospel.  We need to present the gospel in such a way that even the simplest of people can understand it.  Jesus once again referred to a man sowing his field, and we know this man represented Jesus.  Verse twenty-five says, But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.  This enemy was out to destroy the man's crop without actually killing it.  He just wanted the tares to make it hard to separate the good seed from the bad.  We know that the gospel can never be destroyed, so there are those today who would like to make it harder for the gospel to grow in the world, so they attempt to choke it out with worldly concerns, and even with false religions.  Verse twenty-six says, But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.  The good seed grew up to bear fruit, but so did the tares.  As followers of Christ, we will always be in the presence of the tares, or those things that would choke off the gospel.  There will never be a time in this world when there won't be someone who is working against the gospel, sowing those tares.  Verse twenty seven states, So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?  The servants would be us the followers of Christ. The servants asked the one who sowed if he hadn't sowed good seed.  When we see the tares of the world attempting to choke off the gospel, we really do not need to ask if the gospel is good.  We simply need to continue to grow in faith, no matter how much opposition we may meet from the world.  In verse twenty-eight Jesus answers, He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?   Jesus said that an enemy had planted the tares, and we know that the enemy of the gospel is Satan.  The servants wanted to know if they should go and gather up the tares.  It would be great if we could remove all the things that attempt to destroy the gospel from the world, but that is impossible.  Verse twenty-nine declares, But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.  Jesus tells us that the sower said no to removing the tares, because they might uproot the wheat as well.  I believe that Jesus was saying that there is no way for us to separate and destroy evil people without possibly destroying some good people as well.  Verse thirty states, Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.  Just as the sower of good seed allowed both the wheat and tares to grow until they were harvested and then first separated and destroyed the tares, so will God allow both His followers and those who deny Him to live until the time of judgment.  For most, that will be death, but for some it will be the second coming of Christ.  Verse thirty-one says, Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:  Jesus uses another parable about a man sowing, this time specifying the seed sown, a mustard seed.  Verse thirty-two says, Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.  From the smallest of seeds came the greatest of herbs.  We know this is a reference to our faith.  From the smallest of faith in Christ can come the greatest life that a person can live, and it will be of benefit to others.  Then verse thirty-three says,  Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.  In this parable Jesus speaks of leavening hid in meal.  Though the leavening was small, it leavened the whole three measures of meal.  We can view this as a reference to our faith, which should affect our whole life, or our proclaiming the gospel, which can affect the whole world.  I believe that we can say that once we have accepted Christ that we should work to bring those around us to Christ, that they might be brought to a spiritual rebirth.

Matthew 13:18 says, Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.  In the next few verses, Jesus explains the parable of the shower.  I believe that He did this because those around Him did not hear by faith and understand on their own.  I also believe that anytime we are having trouble understanding what God is saying to us, if we only listen, the Holy Spireit will teach us the truth.  If we will really listen, then God will always make His truth known to us.  Verse nineteen states, When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.  Jesus tells us that anyone who hears the gospel, but allows it to simply blow over them like so many empty words, are like the seed sow by the wayside.  The wicked one, or the Devil, will be quick to snatch the truth of the gospel away from them, never even giving it a chance to take root.  Verse twenty says, But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;  Then in verse twenty-one continues, Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.  Jesus tells us that those who hear the gospel, but only accept it when things are going well, are like the seed that fell on rocky ground.  As soon as adversity comes, they turn away from the gospel, and it withers and dies for them, because it never took root in their lives.  They may have professed to believe, but it was for material reasons and not for spiritual ones.  Verse twenty-two states, He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.  Jesus said that those who hear the word among thorns are those that allow the care of the world and the deceitfulness of riches to choke the word of God and they become unfruitful.  I am not sure if we can say these people were not saved, since evidently the gospel took root, but if they were, they still allowed the things of the world to have too much importance in their lives and ceased to bear fruit for God.  Verse twenty-three says, But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.  This is what we want to be as followers of Christ.  We hear and understand God's word, especially His message of salvation, and we bear fruit for Him.  Not all will bear the same amount of fruit, but all will bear fruit.

Matthew 13:10 says, And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?  The disciples asked Jesus why He spoke in parables.  This would have been a reasonable question.  We today may at times question why God works as He does.  This does not mean that we can refuse to allow God to work in His own way and still be true followers.  If we do question why God is working a particular way, we must be ready to hear and accept His answer.  Verse eleven states, He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.  Jesus said that He spoke in parables so that those who believed in Him could understand what He was saying, but so that those who did not believe in Him would not understand.  This does not mean that Jesus was trying to hide the truth of the gospel from some, but instead that in order to understand God's word that we must first have a personal relationship with Christ.  The meaning of the parables would be revealed to those who had accepted Christ for Who He is, and that is Savior and Lord.  We can never come to Christ by our own understanding.  Verse twelve says, For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.  I do not believe that Jesus was referring to material things, but to the acceptance of the gospel.  Those who have accepted the gospel will have an abundance of faith, and those who will not will ultimately have everything taken away from them.  Verse thirteen states, Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.  Again, I believe that Jesus was referring to those who refused to acknowledge Him.  Many, many people today hear the word of God, but since they refuse to acknowledge Jesus as Savior and Lord, they do not understand what God's word is saying.  Verse fourteen says, And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:  Another of the prophecies of Isaiah was fulfilled by the people not understanding what they saw Jesus do or heard Him say.  This does not mean that Jesus spoke in parables just to fulfill the prophecy, but that He knew that no matter how simply, some people will never hear and understand, because they do not accept Him.  Verse fifteen declares, For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.  Jesus said the the hearts of the people in His day had grown cold, and they refused to hear what He taught.  If they had, He would have saved them.  There are many people today whose  hearts are cold to the word of God.  They refuse to accept the fact that He is the only way to salvation, and therefore cannot be saved.  Verse sixteen says, But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.  Jesus said that those who did hear and see what He did and understood and accepted His teachings were blessed.  This will always be true.  Verse seventeen declares, For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.  I believe that Jesus was saying that those prophets and righteous men who lived before He came could only live in hope of seeing the Messiah, but now He had come.  Though Jesus is not with us physically today, we can look back, if we put our faith in Him,  and know that His coming is not just a promise, but an accomplished fact.  Once we accept Jesus as Savior and Lord, then the Holy Spirit will help us to understand the teachings of Jesus more thoroughly.

Matthew 13:1 says, The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side.  We are not told if Jesus actually spoke to His mother and brothers when they came requesting that He come to them.  We should never expect Jesus to come to us on demand to meet our requests, but we should always go to Him to seek His will.  We are told that later that day that Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea side.  Verse two states,  And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.  The crowds were still flocking to Jesus.  If He went to the sea side to rest, it did not work.  Jesus once again went into a ship to separate Himself from the crowd.  They set on the shore close to the boat.  It would be wonderful if people had that same desire to be close to Jesus today, but even then I believe most were there simply because of the miracles Jesus was performing and not because they saw Him as the promised Messiah.  We cannot come to Jesus simply expecting earthly blessings, but must come to Him through faith that He truly is the Messiah, the Savior of mankind.  Verse three states, And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;  We are told that Jesus spoke to the crowd on the shore in parables, which have been described as earthly stories with heavenly meaning.  Though the message of salvation is simple, we must actually us our brains to understand it, and the same applies to understanding the Bible.  Jesus always has and always will make understanding His teachings simple, if we only listen and think about what He says.  The multitudes may have been there looking for miracles, but Jesus gave them the simple truth instead.  Jesus began by speaking of a sower who went out to sow.  Though He didn't say so directly, the sower in this parable was Jesus, Who was sowing the gospel to those around Him.  Verse four says, And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:  Jesus said that some of the seed fell by the wayside and were devoured.  The purpose of the sower did not change when some seed did not fall on fertile ground, just as our purpose in sowing or spreading the gospel does not change just because some do not respond or even attempt to destroy it.  Verse five states, Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:  Jesus said some seed took root and sprung up in soil not deep enough to sustain them.  Some people profess to accept the gospel, but their faith is not deep enough to sustain them when trouble comes, and they wilt away from the gospel.  It takes more than just a shallow profession of faith to live a successful Christian life.  We must be rooted deep in our faith in Christ.  Verse six says, And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.   This is what I just discussed.  Not being rooted deeply, the plants faded in the heat of the sun.  Verse seven says, And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:  I believe this means that some people hear the gospel, but because they are more concerned about those around them who oppose the gospel, they refuse to accept it.  Even in the midst of unbelievers who scorn those who follow Christ, we must always proclaim Him.  We cannot afford to allow others to prevent us from accepting Christ, but many people allow friends or family to do just that.  Verse eight declares, But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.  Some seed fell on good ground, and all brought forth fruit to varying degrees.  As followers of Christ, we are the ones the good seed fell on.  We have heard and accepted the gospel and have our lives deeply rooted in Christ.  As such, we are expected to bring forth fruit, or reach others with the gospel.  We will not all be as successful, but we must continue to sow the seed.  Verse nine warns, Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.  I believe that this means more than just physically hearing the parable, but understanding what Jesus was really saying.  As followers of Christ, the Holy Spirit will always lead us to the understanding of what God has to say to us.  We simply have to be actively listening.

Matthew 12:46 says, While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him.  Though Jesus was no longer speaking to the Pharisees directly, He was continuing to speak to the common people.  Sometimes, those who consider themselves to be the religious authority of the world are the least likely to listen to Jesus, because He might threaten their authority and position in the world.  We are told that Jesus's mother and brothers came desiring to speak to Him.  I wonder how Mary and her other children felt about Jesus.  We know that Mary knew of the miraculous birth of Jesus, but what had she shared with her other sons?  For whatever reason, they were outside and wanted to speak to Jesus.  Matthew Henry points out that they should have been inside wanting to hear Jesus.  Instead, they were outside wanting to speak to Him, and interrupted His teaching to do so.  As Matthew Henry points out, sometimes those who are the closest to a person are less likely to listen to them.  Verse forty-seven states, Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee.  Someone interrupted Jesus to tell Him that His mother and brothers were standing without wanting to speak with Him.  It is a wonderful thing that we do not have to have someone go to Jesus to tell Him that we would like to speak to Him.  Mary and the brothers of Jesus could have gone directly to Him and listened until He was through speaking.  Sometimes, we may feel that our desire to speak to Jesus is more important than anything else, but sometimes when we come to Him we may need to first listen to what He has to say.  It could be that Mary and the brothers of Jesus felt that what they wanted should come ahead of what anyone else needed.  We need to be careful that this isn't our attitude. In verse forty-eight Jesus asks, But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?  This was a rhetorical question basically.  Who would people say the mother and brothers of Jesus were?  I believe that Jesus was implying that they were still looking at Him in earthly terms.  Verse forty-nine states, And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!  In this statement, Jesus was speaking spiritually.  No one person is spiritually more important to Jesus than any other, no matter who they may be in the eyes of the world.  In verse fifty Jesus declares, For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.  Jesus tells us that this not only applied to His disciples, but to anyone who would accept Him as Savior and Lord, which is the first necessarily step before being able to do the will of the Father. This includes everyone who accepts Jesus, including you and me.  We become brothers and sisters to Christ and each other.

Matthew 12:38 says, Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee.  The scribes and Pharisees were always quick to attempt to discredit Jesus.  They asked Jesus to show them some sign that He was indeed the Messiah.  I believe they asked more from the belief that Jesus could not give them a sign than the hope that He would.  Some people today attempt to put conditions on their believing God.  They demand some particular sign before they will even acknowledge that God exists.  Verse thirty-nine states, But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:  Jesus told them, and tells us as well, that those who seek a sign before believing in Jesus as Savior are a wicked and adulterous generation.  Jesus further said that the only sign would be the sign of Jonah.  Verse forty continues, For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.  Jesus said that just as Jonah spent three days and nights in the belly of the whale, so would Jesus, the Messiah, spend three days and nights in the grave.  Then, just as Jonah was rescued from the whale, so would Jesus be resurrected from the grave.  For those Jesus was speaking to the sign was yet to come, but for us today it is something we look back on through faith as an accomplished fact.  Verse forty-one declares, The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.  Even though God had been ready to destroy Ninevah before Jonah preached God's word to them, they repented.  Jesus said that the people of Nineveh could rise in judgment against God's chosen people around Jesus who did not repent at the preaching of Jesus, Who was much greater than Jonah.  Verse forty-two says, The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.  Jesus said that the queen of the south came to hear the wisdom of Solomon, but that those around Jesus refused to hear Him, though He was much greater than Solomon.  There will always be people who will listen to the wisdom of the world more quickly than they will to the gospel of Christ.  Verse forty-three says, When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. Jesus said that even when the unclean spirits leave a person that they may still not have a safe place to stay.  When we accept Jesus as our Savior and Lord, our situation in life does not necessarily change.  The thief on the cross was still on the cross after he accepted Jesus.  Verse forty-four says, Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.  The man cleansed of the evil spirit returned to where he had lived and saw it as a better place to be than where he was after he was cleansed of the spirit.  Verse forty-five says, Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.  Upon going in to where he had lived, the man became much worse off than he was before.  I believe this is an analogy to deciding to follow Christ simply for material reasons, and then deciding that things were better before.  We can never follow Jesus simply hoping for a better life materially and find peace and happiness.  Jesus said that just as the man who had the demon cast out but returned to where he had lived and ended up in a worse situation, that it would be the same for that wicked generation.  They had Jesus with them willing to heal them spiritually, but were often following Him for material reasons and soon turned away.  Jesus has already freed everyone from the power of sin, but often people say that it just cost them too much materially to follow Him, so they return to where they had been before spiritually, and they are even worse off than they were before.

Matthew 12:29 says, Or else how can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.   I believe that Jesus was asking how He could cast out devils, if He did not first bind Satan.  God has allowed Satan to have certain power in the world, but he has already been bound for those who put their faith in Jesus.  The only power that Satan has over those who follow Christ by faith is the power we grant him by our own self will.  Satan, or the Devil, can never make us do anything.  In verse thirty Jesus declares, He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.  There really is no neutral ground with Jesus. We are either for Him, or we are against Him.  Those who profess neutrality about Jesus have made their stand as being against Him.  Verse thirty-one states, Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.  We sometimes hear people speak about unpardonable sin, but Jesus says there is only one, and that is blasphemy against the Holy Ghost.  Blasphemy is attributing the works of God to the Devil or any other source, and that is what the Pharisees had attempted to do when Jesus cast out devils.  The ultimate blasphemy is attributing the work of Jesus to anything other than His bringing salvation to people under the power of the heavenly Father.  If we do not accept this fact by faith, then there is no forgiveness.  Verse thirty-two declares, And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.  Jesus tells us that people can be forgiven for speaking against Him, but not for speaking against the Holy Ghost.  I believe that this is because once we accept Jesus as our Savior and Lord, at which time those times we spoke against Him are forgiven, the the Holy Spirit indwells us to guide us.  If we then speak against the Holy Spirit, we are deliberately sinning.  Verse thirty-three states, Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.  Jesus says that a good tree bears good fruit, and a bad tree bears bad friut, and the tree is known by its fruit.  The analogy was about people.  If we are good, or have put our faith in Christ as Savior and Lord, then we will do things that bring honor to God.  If we are bad, or have not accepted Christ, then we cannot bring honor to God.  It is not enough to simply claim to follow Christ, but we if we are truly His, we must bear good fruit for Him.  Our fruit, or actions, will show the truth of our faith.  Verse thirty-four declares, O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.  Jesus called those around Him, which were still mostly those who professed to be God's people, a generation of vipers and asked how they could speak good things.  Jesus further said that what they felt in their hearts determined what they said.  This is still true today.  Verse thirty-five says, A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.  Jesus tells us that the way we believe will determine the way that we act in life.  If God and His will are at the center of our lives, the things we do will be good and bring glory to Him.  The opposite is also true.  Anytime we act from self will or any influence other than we will of God, we cannot bear good fruit.  Verse thirty-six says, But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.  We will be held accountable for every word we speak.  I believe that this goes even further than the actual speaking, but also to our attitude when we speak.  We may say the right words without them having any meaning.  Verse thirty-seven says, For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.  I believe that the only words that we can be justified by are a true proclamation of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, and then all that we say should be guided by the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 12:22 says, Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.  Another person in need was brought to Jesus.  Not only could this person not see or hear, but he was possessed by a devil.  I believe that it would be safe to say that this person was pretty much helpless and hopeless.  That is really the way everyone comes to Jesus.  We are helpless and hopeless by our own abilities, and we are following the leadership of the Devil.  In this state, we need to come to Jesus and put our hope and trust in Him.  Jesus alone can heal us of our spiritual blindness and allow us to hear the truth of God.  When He does, the Devil will no longer have any power over us, unless we stop following the will of God.  Verse twenty-three states, And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?  The people were amazed, and they asked was Jesus not the son of David.  This was a reference to the awaited Messiah.  The people were curious, but Matthew Henry says they didn't wait around for the answer.  People may be curious about Jesus today, but until they come to the knowledge that He is indeed the only One Who can bring salvation, they will not be saved.  We must be able to declare without a doubt that Jesus is indeed the awaited Messiah, the Savior of all people who will accept Him.  Verse twenty-four says, But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of devils.  Once more,, the Pharisees, the most religious of the Jews, attempted to discredit Jesus.  We can be the most devout person in eyes of the world, but unless we accept Christ as Savior and Lord, we are just as lost as the Pharisees were.  The Pharisees accused Jesus of working under the power of Beelzebub, or the devil.  It is a sad commentary that some of the most devout of those who were supposedly God's people not only failed to recognize the Messiah, but also tried to attribute His miracles to the power of Devil.  There are still people today, when they see a miracle, attempt to give the credit to anyone but God.  We, as followers of Christ, must never be guilty of doing that.  Verse twenty-five says, And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:  We could interpret this as Jesus reading the minds of the Pharisees, or as Jesus knowing how they tended to think.  Jesus answered their accusation by saying a house divided against itself shall not stand, meaning that if He were casting out devils in the name of, or by the power of, the devil, the He was working against Himself.  I believe there is another warning for us, and that is that as followers of Christ we should never do anything that is against His will.  Verse twenty-six says, And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?  This is what was just discussed.  If Satan works against Satan, he cannot stand.  Verse twenty-seven asks, And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges.  Jesus asked if He were being successful in casting out devils by the power of Beelzebub then by whose power were the Jews casting them out.  The Pharisees would have to be the judge.  They could not single out Jesus as being empowered by the devil and say that others doing the same thing were empowered by God.  We must be careful to never attempt to discredit what other Christians are doing for God.  Verse twenty-eight says, But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.  Jesus said that if He was acting under the power of God, then the kingdom of God was come upon them.  Jesus was basically saying that if He were acting under the power, or authority, of God, then He was the awaited Messiah, and we each have to make the decision of whether He is or not.

Matthew 12:9 says, And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue:  Jesus went to the synagogue, the place of worship for the Jews, after His confrontation with the Pharisees.  He was not hiding or running from them.  If we have those who would destroy our witnessing for Christ today, we can not run and hide, but we must simply continue about God's business.  Verse ten states, And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him.  The "they" mentioned here were the Pharisees.  They brought a man with a withered hand to Jesus and asked if it were lawful to heal him on the sabbath.  They did this, not out of concern for the man, but to be able to accuse Jesus of violating God's law concerning the sabbath.  In verse eleven Jesus asks, And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?  Jesus did not immediately answer their question, but asked them one instead.  Jesus asked if someone had a sheep fall into a pit on the sabbath, would they rescue it.  This would violate the law of the sabbath as the Pharisees interpreted it.  We can never allow the letter of the law of God as given in the Old Testament to overrule our actions done by faith in Christ, because Christ fulfilled the law.  This does not mean that we are to ignore God's law, but that we are to put the salvation of people above the letter of the law, especially those man made additions to the law.  Jesus said that He did not come to destroy the law, but to fulfill it as a way to salvation.  Verse twelve asks, How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.  Jesus asked if they would save a sheep on the sabbath, then of how much greater a value was this man who needed healing.  I believe that Jesus was saying that people are more important than religious rules, and He was definitely saying people are more important than animals.  Verse thirteen says, Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other.  Having asked the Pharisees what they thought, Jesus did not wait for their answer before doing the right thing and healing the man.  We may ask others what they think about certain religious practices, but we can never allow the practice or their opinion to stop us from doing what we know God would have us do.  Verse thirteen declares, Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him.  When they questioned Jesus about His actions, He made the Pharisees look bad simply by asking them about scripture.  We can be certain that the scripture, the Bible, will never lead us to do anything wrong in the eyes of God.  The Pharisees, instead of celebrating the healing of the man went out to conspire against Jesus.  There are people all over the world today who not only reject Jesus, but conspire against Him.  Verse fifteen states, But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all;  Jesus knew what the Pharisees were up to, and He left, with large multitudes following Him.  As Jesus was going, we are told that He healed them all.  Though a physical healing is good, Jesus gives us something much greater, a spiritual healing, if we only put our faith in Him and follow Him.  Verse sixteen states, And charged them that they should not make him known:  As I have stated before, Jesus did not want the multitudes coming to Him for just a physical healing, and also God's timing for Jesus to be truly revealed as the Messiah was not yet come.  We must always work on God's schedule, and accepting Jesus as Savior and Lord of our lives must always come first.  Verse seventeen says, That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,  Then verse eighteen continues, Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.  This was the fulfillment of a prophecy by Isaiah about the Messiah.  He would be a servant chosen by God Who had the spirit of God on Him and He would show judgment to the Gentiles.  Verse nineteen states, He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets.  People would not be crying out in the streets that the Messiah had come, nor would Jesus Himself shouting that He was the promised Messiah.  We cannot bring people to a saving knowledge of Christ, no matter how loudly we proclaim Him, until they hear His small, quiet voice calling them and respond.  Verse twenty says, A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory.  Matthew Henry says this refers to new believers, who are still weak.  God will protect them as they grow in faith.  Verse twenty-one declares, And in his name shall the Gentiles trust.  Jesus came first to the Jews, God's chosen people, but He came also for the Gentiles.  It was always God's plan to reach the whole world with His call to salvation.  The Jews were chosen for this purpose, but failed.  Through Jesus Christ, we as His followers have salvation, but we also have the responsibility to reach the world with the gospel.  We can indeed trust in the name of Jesus.

Matthew 12:1 says, At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat.  At this time, the disciples were with Jesus.  They were passing by a corn field, and they were hungry, so they began to pluck some of the corn.  I guess we could asks why they would pluck someone else's corn, but I believe that it was acceptable to gather a little in that time if a person was hungry.  Now they couldn't gather the whole crop, but just enough to satisfy their hunger.  As God's people, we have a responsibility to feed the hungry and not to worry about the cost.  It really all belongs to God anyway.  Verse two states, But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day.  Since the Pharisees saw them and did not question their right to pluck the corn, but instead questioned their doing so on the Sabbath, we can assume that the plucking was alright.  The Pharisees were again concerned about following the letter of the law, that had been greatly added to, instead of the spirit of the law.  In verse three Jesus asks, But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him;  Speaking to the Pharisees, Jesus basically asked them if they were familiar with the scripture.  If someone begins to condemn us for our spiritual actions today, they need to make sure that their condemnation is based on what God's word really teaches.  We cannot base our view of the actions of other Christians on tradition or personal views, but must evaluate all, whether we see the action as good or bad, on the teachings of God through the leadership of the Holy Spirit.  Jesus asked the Pharisees if they remembered what David did.  Verse four declares, How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?  David ate the shewbread in the house of God, as did those who were with him.  Under the religious law, they were not entitled to do so, since they were not priests.  We must remember that our status with God is based on our relationship with Him through faith and not by being made righteous by our own actions.  Verse five says, Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?  Again, Jesus asked the Pharisees if they had read the law.  In the law, or scripture, the priests work on the sabbath day and are blameless.  Though Jesus did not say it at this time, He is our great High Priest, and we as His followers are a priesthood of believers, so whatever was lawful to a priest is lawful to us.  Even beyond that, we are not judged by the law of God, but by our relationship to Christ.  Verse six declares, But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple.  Here, Jesus makes an indirect reference to His being greater than the temple.  We do not need to worry about what people do until they have a relationship with Christ, the One Who is greater than the temple and the law.  Verse seven states, But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.  Jesus told the Pharisees, and tells us today, that mercy is more important than sacrifice.  Jesus said the Pharisees did not understand this.  We today must understand that salvation is based on faith in Christ, and not on anything we may sacrifice to God, nor on how well we keep the law.  Faith in the mercy of God in sending Jesus to die for our sins is the only way to salvation.  Verse eight further declares, For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.  Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath, so anything that we as His followers do for Him on the sabbath, or Sunday in our case, is lawful.

Matthew 11:25 says, At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.  Jesus pauses to pray.  I believe that whenever we face a difficult situation, especially one that might cause us anger, then we need to stop and pray.  I know some people would say that Jesus wasn't angry, but that He felt righteous indignation.  Whatever we call it, I believe that Jesus was upset at the attitude of those who were supposed to be God's people.  I believe that we can likewise be upset with those who call themselves followers of Christ when they act in such a way as to discredit Him.  If we are, then we need first to pause and pray.  Jesus thanked the heavenly Father for making the way to salvation easy to understand.  Those who are wise and prudent in their own understanding miss the truth of the gospel.  We must come as babies, trusting fully by Christ in faith without attempting to come to Him by our own reasoning or understanding.  Verse twenty-six says, Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight.  Jesus said that He accepted the will of the heavenly Father, just as we must.  We must seek what seems good in the sight of God.  Verse twenty-seven says, All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.  Jesus said no one truly knew the Son, Jesus, but the heavenly Father, God, and that the opposite was also true, with the exception of those that Jesus revealed the heavenly Father to.  I cannot fully understand the Trinity, but I can understand that the only way to know the heavenly Father is through the acceptance of Jesus Christ, the Son.  There is no other way to know God.  We can only begin to understand God and become a part of His family by putting our faith in the salvation provided by Jesus Christ.  Verse twenty-eight states, Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  I believe that without God in our lives, we are always going to be weak and heavy laden spiritually.  We may seem to have it all in the eyes of the world, but until we accept Christ as our Savior and Lord, we will be spiritually weakened and heavy laden by sin.  Jesus invites us to come to Him.  Verse twenty-nine declares, Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. We are called to take on the yoke of Jesus.  We are to be guided by Him and to work for Him.  Jesus tells us that He is meek and lowly in heart, and we should be likewise.  Jesus did not go around pointing out His superiority to others, though He well could have, but went into the world as simply a carpenter's Son in the eyes of the world.  When we accept Jesus as our Savior and Lord, we will find rest from the burdens of sin.  Then, verse thirty adds, For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.  This is true because once we accept Jesus, then the Holy Spirit is always with us to guide and strengthen us.  We just need to always pray for God's guidance, and then accept it when it comes.

Matthew 11:16 says, But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows,  Jesus asked who He could compare that generation to.  He may be asking that same question about us today.  Jesus said that they were like children sitting in markets calling to others.  Verse seventeen states, And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented.  Jesus was speaking about the testimony of John and of Jesus Himself that He was the long awaited Messiah, but that the people did not listen, or believe, them.  The were called to repentance as Jesus mourned their spiritual state.  Like children, they were only interested in what made them happy.  We today need to realize that we should be happy because Jesus has brought us the gift of salvation, and not be looking simply for material blessings from God.  Verse eighteen states, For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil.  Since John the Baptist had a different diet and way of dress, many accused him of being demon possessed.  Even though he was remaining true to his calling, many of God's chosen people rejected John the Baptist because of the way he lived.  We cannot afford to judge other Christians by our own standards.  As long as they are true to God's calling for their lives, we should celebrate with them instead of judging them.  Then verse nineteen declares, The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.  Jesus said they accused John the Baptist of being demon possessed because of his strict diet, but then they accused Jesus of being demon possessed because He ate what He wanted, and did so with publicans and sinners.  We are given the freedom to eat what we like without being spiritually defiled, and we not only can but should do so with the lost of the world so that we might reach them with the gospel.  Verse twenty declares, Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not:  Jesus began to speak against those cities that He had done mighty works in but where they still had not repented, some of which are named in the next few verses.  There is the same condemnation for all those who hear and do not accept Christ, from the time He came until the time He returns.  Verse twenty-one says, Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.  Jesus said that if the same mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon that they would have repented.  Tyre and Sidon were known as very bad cities, but Jesus said they would have repented had the gospel been preached there, whereas Chorazin and Bethsaida did not.  Verse twenty-two states, But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you.  I believe that the meaning here is that those who hear the gospel openly proclaimed and reject it will be held more accountable than those who do not.  I believe that this does not mean that some will not be held accountable, but that some have heard and rejected the gospel more often.  Verse twenty-three says,  And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.  Then verse twenty-four states, But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.  Jesus said that it would be more tolerable in Sodom, which was destroyed for it wickedness, than in cities that were supposed to be cities of God's people, but rejected the Messiah.  The more we hear and reject the gospel, the more accountable we become.

Matthew 11:7 says, And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?  The disciples of John the Baptist went back to give their report to him.  He was still in prison.  We might have expected Jesus to have freed John the Baptist from prison, but He did not.  Sometimes, we may be left in dangerous situations as we witness for Christ, but if we are, we simply need to remember that this life is but temporary and salvation through Christ is forever.  Not all sickness is healed nor are all those who are imprisoned for their faith in Christ set free in this world, but they are all healed and set free in the everlasting world to come.  Verse eight asks, But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses.  Jesus asked those who had gone out into the wilderness what they expected to see when they saw John the Baptist.  If they were expecting to see someone who wavered in his beliefs, they would be disappointed.  John the Baptist was steadfast in his message, and did not waver even when imprisoned.  We must be just as steadfast today.  Jesus also asked if they thought John the Baptist would be clothed in soft or fine cloth.  Jesus further stated that soft or fine cloth was for the king's house.  We are not called to follow Christ for the fine things in life, but instead are called to take up our cross daily.  Verse nine asks, But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet.  Jesus asks again why they went out to see John the Baptist.  Did they go out to see a prophet of God?  Some people may come to hear a preacher today simply because they are curious about him, but if that preacher is true to his calling he will simply point them to Jesus.  Verse ten states, For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.  John the Baptist was the messenger that would point people to Jesus, as had been foretold in the scripture.  If we are followers of Christ today, we are the messengers who are to point people to Jesus also, though it is after He fulfilled His purpose.  We, like John the Baptist, can only point people to Jesus.  Verse eleven says, Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.  Jesus said that even though there had been no greater mortal man than John the Baptist that anyone who was even the least in the kingdom of heaven was greater than John the Baptist was.  I believe this means spiritually greater than he was by his physical nature.   Verse twelve declares, And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.  After John the Baptist started preaching repentance and preparation for the coming Messiah, the kingdom of heaven, or of God, began to suffer violence, and it has continued since.  Verse thirteen states,  For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.  The prophets before John the Baptist could only prophesy under the law, but after him they would prophesy under the grace of God.  Verse fourteen says, And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come.  The people of Israel were looking for Elias, or Elijah, to come again to proclaim the arrival of the Messiah, and Jesus said that John the Baptist was spiritually the one they were looking for, if they only would believe, or understand, that fact.  John the Baptist was in no way a reincarnation of Elijah, but was like Elijah spiritually.  Verse fifteen states, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.  If we would know what God wants us to do and what He is doing in the world today, we simply need to listen to Him.

Matthew 11:1 says, And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities.  I believe that we often think of the disciples as simply following along behind Jesus in every step that He took, but having just commissioned the disciples to go and preach, teach, heal and work miracles, Jesus departed from them.  Now, this could refer to the time after Jesus' death on the cross, or to disciples other than the twelve, but it seems to refer to this particular time and to the twelve.  Matthew Henry says that Jesus may have departed because the disciples would have been reluctant to leave Him.  We today, since we have the Holy Spirit indwelling us, do not have that problem, but we must still go out into the world to share the gospel.  Sometimes, it might seem easier to just sit alone communing with God, but just like the disciples, we have a commission to go and spread the gospel.  Even if they were temporarily physically separated from Jesus, He was still with them in spirit.  Verse two says, Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples,  John the Baptist was in prison, but he heard of the works of Jesus and sent two of his disciples to check on what Jesus was doing.  When we hear of someone doing something great in the name of Jesus today, we might do well to make sure that they are truly doing so based on God's word and empowered by the Holy Spirit.  Verse three says, And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?  This is the ultimate question that everyone has to answer himself or herself today.  Is Jesus the Messiah, the promised Savior of mankind?  The only way to salvation is to answer yes.  The only way to salvation is to answer the question of Who Jesus is.  Verse four says, Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see:  Like the disciples of John the Baptist, we need to tell those seeking Him what Jesus is doing in the world today through the work of the Holy Spirit working in the lives of those who follow Jesus.  Verse five states, The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.  We may not know of personal examples of some of these miracles, but we do hear of them and must give God the credit for them.  We should all know the reality of the last thing, and that is that the poor have the gospel preached to them.  The more that we live by faith, the more miraculous things we will see, but we should always proclaim the gospel to the world.  Verse six says, And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offened by me.  I believe that this means that we should always give Christ the credit for the good things that happen in life, instead of almost apologizing for believing that He is at work.  We can never be ashamed of following Christ.