Matthew 16:1

 Matthew 16:1 says, The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven.  The Pharisees came with the Sadducees this time, desiring to tempt Jesus by asking Him for a sign from heaven.  These were two of the most religious groups of those who were God's chosen people.  We as Christians, God's chosen people today, should not tempt God by asking for any sign from heaven for any reason.  Verse two states, He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red.  Verse three adds, And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?  Jesus told them that they could look at the sky and tell what the weather was going to be, and called them hypocrites because they could not read the signs of the times spiritually.  Verse four declares, A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.  Jesus said a wicked and adulterous generation asked for a sign, and the only sign that would be given was the sign of Jonah, who was in the belly of the whale for three days and then resurrected to life.  Then, Jesus left them.  The only sign that we really need to be concerned with today is the sign of the cross, and then all the other signs of the times will take care of themselves.  We should not look for the return of Christ as a justification for Christians, though it will be, but as a failure to reach all the lost of the world.  Verse five says, And when his disciples were come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread.  When the disciples came to the other side where Jesus was, they had forgotten to bring bread.  How often do we come to Jesus empty handed?  Verse six declares, Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.  Jesus did not address the lack of bread, but instead gave the disciples a spiritual warning.  They were to beware of the leaven, or teachings, of the Pharisees and Sadducees, those who were very religious in the eyes of man but were lost in the eyes of God.  Verse seven adds, And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread.  The disciples reasoned among themselves and came to the conclusion that Jesus was talking about their not bringing bread.  When we reason among ourselves about God without going to the source, God Himself, through the leadership of the Holy Spirit, we may likewise come to the wrong conclusions about what God is saying to us.  Verse eight declares, Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread?  When Jesus knew what they were doing, He called them weak and of little faith because of their thinking that He was talking about bread.  We should never allow the things of this world to come between God and us.  Verse nine adds, Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?  Jesus asked the disciples if they had forgotten the feeding of the five thousand with five loaves and all the leftovers.  Verse ten continues,  Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?  Jesus added the feeding of the four thousand and all that was left over to the question.  Jesus had not only shown the disciple once, but had shown them twice, that He could meet heir physical needs, so he wondered at their lack of understanding about what He was really saying.  We should be careful that we do not make our faith in Jesus about material things.  God will always meet our needs if we put our faith in Him.  Verse eleven asks, How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees?  Jesus asked them how they could think He was talking about bread when He warned them about the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.  We should never attempt to make God's word about material things, but should always look for the spiritual meaning.  Verse twelve says, Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.  Then, after coming to Jesus, or Him coming to them, for the answer, the disciples understood that Jesus was warning them about the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees and not about bread.  We must come to Jesus through the leadership of the Holy Spirit if we really want to understand the word of God.

Matthew 15:29

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 once again went up on the mountain and sat there.  Verse thirty adds, 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:  Multitudes of people came to Jesus bring to him those that had many physical problems, and He healed them.  They were still looking just for physical healing for the most part.  We today need to be just as serious about bringing the lost who need spiritual healing to Jesus.  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.  The people wondered how Jesus could heal people, but at least they gave glory to the God of Israel.  It does not say that they gave glory to Jesus or to their God.  It is not enough to just acknowledge that there is a God, but we must also acknowledge that Jesus Christ is God and accept Him personally as our Savior and Lord.  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.  After three days, Jesus called His disciples and said that He had compassion for the people and would not send them away fasting so that they would not faint on their way home.  When we come to Jesus today with our cares and concerns, He will never send us away empty.  Verse thirty-three asks, 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 asked Jesus if He thought they had enough bread to feed all the people.  How often do we as Christians ask if Jesus can provide for not only our needs but also help us meet the needs of others?  Verse thirty-four declares, And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes.  Jesus asked them what did they have,  The disciples replied that they had seven loaves and a few little fish.  When we look to God to meet our needs, we need to bring all that we have to Him, no matter how little that may be.  Verse thirty-five states, And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.  Once again, the multitude had to listen to Jesus and He told them to sit.  If we are going to be blessed by Jesus, we must first do what He commands us to do.  Verse thirty-six adds,  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.  Jesus first blessed the food, and then He broke it apart and gave it to the disciples to distribute to the multitude.  Verse thirty-seven says, And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full.  After everyone ate, the disciples took up seven baskets full of leftovers,  The other time Matthew spoke of feeding a multitude, there was less to start with and more left over, but both were equally a miracle, because Jesus took what they had and not only met the need but did so with more than enough.  There was no wasting in either case.  Verse thirty-eight continues, And they that did eat were four thousand men, beside women and children.  Also, this time a fewer people were feed.  Jesus can only meet the needs of those who come to Him.  Verse thirty-nine concludes, And he sent away the multitude, and took ship, and came into the coasts of Magdala.  Jesus sent the multitude away and once again left on a ship. After we are spiritually fed by Jesus, we need to go out into the world and witness for Him.  As followers of Christ, wherever we go, the Holy Spirit will go with us.

Matthew 15:12

 Matthew 15:12 says, Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying? Jesus' disciples asked Him if He knew that the Pharisees were offended by what He had said.  Sometimes, people today may be offended by what we say if we are speaking God's truth.  Verse thirteen declares, But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.  Jesus said that every plant which His Father had not planted would be rooted up, but He really wasn't talking about plants.  Jesus was referring to those who believe in Him as their Savior and Lord and those who don't.  Verse fourteen adds, 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 His disciples to leave the Pharisees alone, as they were the blind leading the blind and would both fall in the ditch.  If we follow false teachers today, then we are the blind being lead by the blind.  Verse fifteen states, Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable.  Verse sixteen adds, And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding?  Peter asked Jesus to tell the disciples the meaning of the parable, and Jesus asked if they were also without understanding.  We as Christians should be able to understand God's word, even when the people of the world don't.  The Holy Spirit will lead help us to understand if we simply put ourselves under His guidance.  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 if the disciples understood that what they ate went in the mouth and what was not digested then came out as waste.  Verse eighteen adds, But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.  Jesus said that it was not the things going into the mouth but the things coming out of the mouth that defiled a person.  The things that we speak come from the heart.  Verse nineteen continues, For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:  Jesus tells us that evil deeds originate in the heart, or mind as we would say today.  Verse twenty concludes, These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.  Jesus said that our evil thoughts defile us and not some failure to follow some physical ritual, like washing ones hand, which I have said I believe was a ceremonial washing.  Verse twenty-one says, Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon.  Jesus once again left the area.  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 to Jesus asking Him to have mercy on her because her daughter was possessed of a devil.  When we have problems with our children today, the first thing we should do is to bring our concerns to Jesus and ask for His mercy on us.  Verse twenty-three declares, 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 right away and the disciples told Him to send her away because she was bothering them.  We need to never send people who need to come to Jesus for salvation away because they are bothering us, and they may not immediately accept His gift of salvation,  Verse twenty-four adds, But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.  Jesus said He was sent first to the lost people of Israel, but fortunately for those of us who are not Jewish, the gospel ultimately went to all people.  Verse twenty-five declares, Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.  Though not a part of the nation of Israel, the woman came and worshipped Jesus and again asked for His help.  At one point, we were all outside of the family of God, and the only way to be healed spiritually is by putting our faith in Jesus as our Savior and Lord.  Verse twenty-six states, But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs.  Jesus basically said that it was not right to take what was meant for the people of Israel first and share it with others.  We know that the gospel was meant for everyone, but at this point Jesus was still presenting it to the people of Israel.  Verse twenty-seven says, And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.  The woman said that it was true that a person should not give the food meant for the children to dogs, but that even the dogs were allowed to eat the scraps that fell from the table.  She did not take offence at what Jesus said, but still put her faith in Him.  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 commended the woman's faith, and her daughter was immediately healed.  We cannot accept Jesus for others, but we should pray that Jesus will heal them spiritually by them accepting them as Savior and Lord, and if they do they will be healed immediately.

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.