Wednesday, October 31, 2018
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.
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