Matthew 15:1

Matthew 15:1 says, Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying,  The scribes and Pharisees once again came to where Jesus was, not to hear Him but to find fault with Him.  Verse two asks, Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.  They asked Jesus why his disciples failed to keep the tradition of the elders by not washing their hands before they ate.  I believe this would have been a ceremonial washing and not one to simply clean their hands.  Sometimes today certain religious people have ceremonial practices or traditions that they hold others at fault for if they do not keep them, but if we are followers of Christ, we are set free from all empty rituals and are just held accountable for our relationship with Him.  Verse three declares,  But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?  Jesus responded by asking a question to the scribes and Pharisees as to why they themselves broke the commandment to honor their father and mother.  Verse four adds, For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.  Jesus then stated the commandment that God gave that anyone who did not honor their father or mother should be put to death.  Once more, if others question us about our faith, our answers should be based on God's word.  Verse five 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 basically said that the scribes and Pharisees said that anything that they did for their parents was a gift and not something that was required of them by God's law.  Verse six concludes, 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 in this case that the scribes and Pharisees attempted to free themselves from God's law by following a man made tradition instead.  We need to be careful that we do not allow some man made tradition to become more important than God's law.  Verse seven declares, Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,  Jesus called the scribes and Pharisees, the leaders of the religious community, hypocrites based on a prophesy of Isaiah.  Verse eight adds, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.  Jesus said that they honored God with their lips, but not with their hearts.  Unless we truly accept Jesus as our Savior and Lord in our hearts, the very core of our being, then all our words professing to do so are empty.  Verse nine continues, But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.  Jesus said that the scribes and Pharisees worshipped God in vain, because they followed the doctrines of man and not of God.  We must never allow the traditions man to come between God and us.  Verse ten states,  And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand:  Jesus called the multitude and asked them to hear and understand what He was saying.  We must not only hear what God has to say to us, but we must also understand the meaning of what He has to say.  Just reading the Bible does us no good if we have no real understanding of what it actually says.  Verse eleven adds, Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.  Jesus said it is not what we eat that defiles us, but what we say based on our understanding of God's word. 

Matthew 14:24

Matthew 14:24 says,  But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.  While  the disciples were on the ship without Jesus, a storm arose.  As followers of Christ today, we will never be away from the presence of the Holy Spirit, no matter what storms may arise in life.  Verse twenty-five declares, And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.  During the night, through the storm, Jesus came to the disciples, walking on the water.  Verse twenty-six adds, And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.  When the disciples saw Jesus coming to them walking on the water, they were troubled and thought that Jesus was a spirit and they cried out.  They should have been able to recognize Jesus, especially in a storm when they would need Him most, and so should we today.  Verse twenty-seven declares, But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.  Jesus spoke to them and told them to be of good cheer and to not be afraid.  When we as Christians today find ourselves in dangerous situations, we should be of good cheer and not be afraid, because the Holy Spirit is always with us.  Verse twenty-eight says, And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.  Peter, a man of action, asked Jesus if it was Him, to bid Peter to come to Him.  There was evidently still some doubt in Peter's mind, but he was willing come to Jesus if asked to.  We may sometimes have doubts, but we must never be afraid to come to Jesus.  Verse twenty-nine declares,  And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.  Jesus did not say anything other than "Come."  It was up to Peter to to respond in faith then, and he did.  Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water, one of only two people that we have a record of ever doing so.  We need the kind of faith that will cause us to step out of the boat, even in a storm, to go to Jesus.  Verse thirty declares, But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.  Then, Peter focused on the storm instead of Jesus and began to sink and called out for Jesus to save him.  When we focus on the world instead of on Jesus, what may have begun as a great act of faith will often falter, and if it does, we simply need to call out to Jesus once more to rescue us.  We just need to keep our eyes on Jesus to keep this from happening to start with.  Verse fifty-one adds, And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?  Jesus stretched out His hand and rescued Peter, then said Peter had little faith and asked how he could doubt.  Getting out of the boat, or getting started, is not enough if we are going to lack the faith to follow through.  If this happens, we must look to Jesus to once again rescue us.  Verse thirty-two continues, And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.  The wind did not cease while they were on the water, but only ceased when they got on the boat.  Jesus could have calmed the sea while Peter and He were out on the water, but I believe that Jesus was showing Peter that the storm did not matter.  Only Peter's faith did.  We should not demand that Jesus stop the storms of life immediately, but should put our faith in Him no matter what.  Verse thirty-three says, Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.  The people on the ship came and worshipped Him, saying that Jesus was the Son of God.  We need to be able to recognize when God is at work in the world today and give Him credit by worshipping Him alone.  Verse thirty-four states. And when they were gone over, they came into the land of Gennesaret.  When Jesus and the disciples got across the sea, they came to Gennesaret.   Verse thirty-five adds, 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;  Those who had knowledge of Jesus sent word out into all the country.  We today, who are followers of Jesus, should call out to others to come to Him.  This is our commission.  Verse thirty-six concludes, And besought him that they might only touch the hem of his garment: and as many as touched were made perfectly whole.  The people who had faith came to Jesus, believing that if they could only touch the hem of Jesus' garment that they would be healed, and we are told that those who did were made whole.  It wasn't the touching of the garment that made them whole, but their faith in Jesus that did.  We do not have to have Jesus physically present with us to be made whole, but we simply need to put our faith in Him.

Matthew 14:14

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.  When Jesus saw the graet multitude around Him, He was moved with compassion for them.  When we see great multitudes of people today, we should be moved with compassion for them if we are followers of Christ, especially for the unsaved in the multitudes.  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.  That evening, Jesus' disciples came to Him saying that it was past meal time so He should send the multitudes away so they could buy food for themselves.  The disciples may have had compassion, but they weren't going to attempt meet the needs of the multitude themselves.  When we see people around us today, do we simply want to send them away so that they don't bother us?  Do we. like the disciples, attempt to tell Jesus what to do about them?  Verse sixteen declares, But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat.  Jesus said for the disciples to not send them away but to feed them.  Jesus still expects us to feed those who are hungry today, especially those who are spiritually hungry, without looking for reasons why we cannot do so.  Verse seventeen says, And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes.  The disciples basically said that they didn't have enough to feed the people with.  Too often I believe we look at what we have instead of what God can do with what we have if we dedicate it all to Him.  Verse eighteen states, He said, Bring them hither to me.  Jesus told the disciples to bring what they had, five loaves and two fish, to Him.  What we need to do today as Christians is to bring all that we have to Jesus, no matter how little it may be.  Verse nineteen adds, 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.  Jesus had the multitude to sit, the He blessed the food, and had His disciples to begin distributing the food.  The multitude also had to obey Jesus, by sitting and doing what He instructed them to do.  We cannot force others to accept Christ as their Savior and Lord, but we can only present the gospel to them.  Verse twenty says, And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full.  After all the people ate, the disciples collected what was left over, and it filled twelve baskets.  That would have been a basketful for each disciple.  When we reach out to others with the gospel, it in no way diminishes what we have, but instead multiplies it as well.  There was more left for the disciples than they had before.  Verse twenty-one declares,  And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children.  Over five thousand men had eaten, plus the women and children.  We may read this passage of scripture and say that could not happen today because Jesus is not here, but the Holy Spirit, Whom Jesus said was able to do more than He was is with us.  Faith was, is and always will be the key to doing great things for God.  The disciples had to believe that Jesus could feed the multitude with so little, and the multitude to a degree at least had to believe so also.  Verse twenty-two states, 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 had his disciples get into a ship to go to the other side of the sea while He sent the multitude away.  We cannot all follow Jesus the same way, but must go where He sends us and do what He tells us to do under the leadership of the Holy Spirit.  Verse twenty-three adds, 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.  After sending the multitude away, while the disciples were on the ship, Jesus went up the mountain alone to pray.  Jesus needed time alone with the heavenly Father, and so do we today.

Matthew 14:1

Matthew 14:1 says, At that time Herod the tetrarch heard of the fame of Jesus,  Verse two adds, 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.  When Herod heard about Jesus, he thought that Jesus was John the Baptist returned from the dead.  Herod had a reason to be concerned about 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 arrested John and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brothers wife, who was now his.  Verse four says, For John said unto him, It is not lawful for thee to have her.  John had been imprisoned for telling Herod that it wasn't lawful for him to have Herodias, which was the truth.  John was not afraid to proclaim the truth, even to the ruler of the land, and neither should we be as Christians.  Verse five adds, 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 to death, but he was afraid of the multitudes, who considered John to be a prophet, which he was.  Verse six states, 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 which he enjoyed.  Verse seven adds, Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she would ask.  Because Herod enjoyed the girl's dancing, he took an oath to give her whatever she asked. He was ruled by sensual emotions, and people today often get themselves in trouble because of sensual emotions or desires.  Verse eight says, And she, being before instructed of her mother, said, Give me here John Baptist’s head in a charger.  Herodias instructed her daughter to ask for the head of John the Baptist on a charger, or plate.  I guess she didn't like what John had said any more than Herod did.  Verse nine declares, 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.  We are told that Herod was saddened by this, but because of his oath he had to carry through.  We may sometimes get ourselves into a situation that we are not happy to be in, but because of circumstances find ourselves unable to get out of the situation. That is why we should be careful what we promise.  Verse ten states, And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison.  Herod fulfilled his oath and had John beheaded.  Verse eleven adds, And his head was brought in a charger, and given to the damsel: and she brought it to her mother.  John the Baptists' head was brought to the daughter, who gave it to Herodias.  It seems a rather grotesque gift, but it was what she wanted.  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 told Jesus what had happened.  When things go wrong for us today as Christians, the best thing we can do is bring our cares and concerns to Jesus.  Verse thirteen declares, 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.  When Jesus heard the news, he departed into the desert, not because he was afraid, but to be alone with His heavenly Father for awhile I believe.  When they heard that Jesus had gone into the desert, the people followed him on foot out of the cities.  It would be wonderful if people today had the same desire to come to Jesus, but most of the people then and many today come for the wrong reasons.   

Matthew 13:44

Matthew 13:44 says, Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.  In this parable, Jesus spoke of a man who found a treasure in a field, hid it, and then sold everything he had in order to buy the field.  The gospel is the treasure, we should hide it in our hearts, and then give everything that we have in this world to God for His use.  Verse forty-five states, Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:  Verse forty-six adds, Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.  Once more, the gospel is the pearl of great price and it should be more valuable than anything we own in this world.  Verse forty-seven says, Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind:  Verse forty-eight adds, Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away.  Then verse forty-nine continues, So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just,  Then verse fifty concludes, And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Like a fisherman who casts a net and draws in all the fish that he catches and then separates the good from the bad, everyone will one day be gathered together before God where those who have accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord will be separated from those who haven't.  For those who haven't, it will be a day of weeping and gnashing of teeth since they will be cast into the fiery furnace, or hell.  Verse fifty-one asks, Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord.  Like Jesus' question then, the question today is do we understand what Jesus is saying.  If we are a follower of Christ, then we can answer yes.  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.  In order to understand the gospel and God's will in our lives, we must understand both the Old and New testament, or in other words all of God's teachings;  Verse fifty-three declares, And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence.  When Jesus finished the parables, he left where He was.  When we understand the gospel and accept Jesus Christ, then we cannot stay where we were spiritually but must move on to share the gospel with others.  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 returned to His own country and taught in the synagogue, and the people there questioned who had given Him this wisdom and the ability to do these mighty works.  Verse fifty-five adds, Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?  Then verse fifty-six continues, And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?  The people in His home area only saw Jesus as a carpenter's son, whose mother, brothers and sister still lived there.  For some people today, Jesus is a historical figure, but they do not see Him as anything more than a carpenter's Son Who may have had some good teachings.  Knowing the historical facts about Jesus does not save us, but accepting the spiritual facts about Him is the only way to salvation.  Verse fifty-seven declares, 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.  The people there were offended by Jesus, just as today many people in the world, and in America, which calls itself a Christian nation, are offended by Jesus.  Verse fifty-eight adds, And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.  Like the people in Jesus' home area, if we do not believe in Him as the Only begotten Son of God, then our disbelief will prevent Him from doing anything in our lives.  Jesus ability to save will never be any less anywhere, but He cannot save anyone who does not believe in Him or work in the lives of those who do if they begin to lose faith in Him.

Matthew 13:31

Matthew 13:31 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 told the people another parable, this time about a grain of mustard seed.  Verse thirty- two adds, 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.  Jesus said that the mustard seed was the smallest seed, but that it grew into the largest of the herbs.  Verse thirty-three states, 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.  Then Jesus shared the parable of the leaven, which a small amount of could leaven a whole loaf.  He did not immediately tell the disciples and the crowds the meaning of the parables, but gave them time to think about them on their own.  Verse thirty-four adds, All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:  We are told that Jesus spoke only in parables.  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.  This was also the fulfilment of a prophesy about the Messiah.  Through the parables, Jesus was revealing the secrets of the world.  Verse thirty-six states, 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 sent the multitudes away and went into a house, where the disciples came to Him and asked him to tell them the meaning of the parable of the tares in the field.  If we do not understand God's word, then we need to go to Him in faith and He will help us to understand it.  Verse thirty-seven declares, He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;  Jesus said the the Son of Man, the Messiah, Jesus Himself was the One Who sowed the good seed.  We need to acknowledge that all good comes from God, and the gospel is the good seed that leads us to God.  Verse thirty-eight adds, 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 said the field was the world, and the good seed were the children of God' kingdom and the bad seed were the children of the wicked one, or the devil.  These were the only two choices, and still are.  Verse thirty-nine continues, The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.  Jesus said the Devil sowed the tares and that the harvest was the end of the world and that the angels were the reapers.  That day is coming, and those who accept Christ as their Savior and Lord will be separated from those who don't.  Verse forty declares, As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.  Again, there only two possible outcomes in judgment.  We are either gathered together into God's kingdom, or we are sent away into everlasting punishment, based on our relationship with Jesus Christ.  Verse forty-one adds, 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;  Jesus said the angels will gather those who offended and did iniquity.  This will be those who had not accepted forgiveness by putting their faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Verse forty-two continues, And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.  Those who do not believe will be cast into the fiery furnace, or hell.  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.  The righteous, those who have accepted salvation through faith in Christ, will be gathered into heaven.  Jesus said to let those who had ears hear, and we can only understand the word of God by putting our faith in Christ.  Until we do. we will never understand the message of faith.  

Matthew 13:17

Matthew 13:17 says, 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.  Jesus said that many prophets and righteous men had desired to hear and see what the disciples and those around them had seen, but they had not seen nor heard what they had.  Jesus was the One they had been looking for, and He is the One that we look back to.  We have not physically seen Jesus, but we see Him spiritually by faith.  Verse eighteen states, Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.  Jesus told them to hear, or understand, the parable of the sower.  Just hearing God's word is not enough,  We must also understand what it means.  Verse nineteen says, 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 said anyone who heard His word and did not understand it was like the seed sown by the wayside.  He also said the wicked one took them away, and Satan does take away those who do not understand the gospel.  Verse twenty states, But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;  Verse twenty-one adds, 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 said that those that made a quick profession of faith were like the seed planted in stony ground.  They were faithful until trouble came, and then they were offended by the gospel.  Verse twenty-two says, 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 received the gospel until the riches and cares of the world deceived them, or led them away from a complete faith in Christ were like the seed that among the thorns.  They were unfruitful.  Verse twenty-three declares, 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.  Jesus then said that those who heard and understood the word and brought forth fruit were like the seed that landed in good soil.  This would be any Christian who put complete faith in Jesus..  Notice that bringing forth fruit is part of the requirement, but the amount of fruit varies.  Verse twenty-four 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:  Verse twenty-five adds, But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.  In this parable, it wasn't the seed that were planted that was the issue, but the fact that an enemy came and sowed bad seed among the good.  The world today sows bad seed, or false teachings, even among the people of God.  We just have to be able to recognize it when it happens.  Verse twenty-six states, But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.  Jesus said that when the seed brought forth fruit, both the good and bad seed did so.  I believe this would refer to those who professed to believe the word of God, but added to or took away from the gospel.  Verse twenty-seven asks, 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 Man's servants came to him and asked if He did not sow good seed, and if He did where did the tares come from.  We can be certain that the gospel is always the good seed, but many would sow other seed amongst it.  Verse twenty-eight declares, He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?  The Man said that the enemy had done this and the servants asked if they should go and gather them up.  Verse twenty-nine states, But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.  Then verse thirty adds, 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.  The Man told the servants to let them grow, and at harvest time He would separate the tares and bind and burn them, and then He would gather the wheat into His barn.  Jesus is the Man in this parable and the gospel is the seed and those who believe in the gospel are the wheat.  Jesus said that we will grow along with the bad seed until harvest time, and then we will be separated from the bad seed or tares.  Those who truly accept Jesus as their Savior and Lord will be gathered into heaven, and those who don't will be sent way to everlasting punishment.