The Seventh Chapter.
Hi. I am in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to take a dispute resolution class at Harvard’s Law School this week. The schedule is rigorous, intense, and demanding, but will be beneficial to my equipping as a minister of Jesus to many folks worldwide. There are some travel stories as I made my way across country that I hope to weave into the Morning Briefings.
Nonetheless, I am mindful that we have just come through an intense passage in Matthew 7, and I want to remain in that mental/biblical space. Let’s get our bearings here…my goodness, Matthew’s gospel has been packed with such a beautiful treatise on our Lord’s life! By way of review and for a few new subscribers as well, Matthew, a Jewish man, wrote from a different perspective than the other three gospel writers; he wrote to convince the Jewish people that Jesus Christ was indeed their long-awaited Messiah. [Should you have an interest in looking back, go to www.pastorwoman.com, choose Powerful Bible Teaching, Morning Briefings (written), and then scroll down the left-hand side, and click on the underlined Matthew. There have been 96 writings so far out of this most amazing gospel.]
Just looking back at the briefing, ‘Gospel=Radical, Intro to Matthew’ (from website), puts a smile on my face. God takes unlikely people to tell his story—flawed, sinful, in-need-of-transformation, people just like me, just like you. Matthew was one such fella; he clearly had a brilliant mind, geared toward detail, which made him well suited to be an author, recounting much about the Messiah. On the other hand, he was a Jewish tax collector, hated by many, which made him a most unlikely candidate to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.
We will continue to revisit the launching of Jesus’ ministry, as well as unpack Matthew chapter 7, but I should like to invite you to look at all of this chapter—what we have already studied, and what we shall study. It is always important to view passages from the Word(s) of God in their context, not just in isolation.
Jesus was speaking to the disciples— 7 “Judge not, that you be not judged.
2For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
6 “Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.
7“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 9Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!
12 Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
13“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
21Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
 |
|
|
| |
The Seventh Chapter.
Hi. I am in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to take a dispute resolution class at Harvard’s Law School this week. The schedule is rigorous, intense, and demanding, but will be beneficial to my equipping as a minister of Jesus to many folks worldwide. There are some travel stories as I made my way across country that I hope to weave into the Morning Briefings.
Nonetheless, I am mindful that we have just come through an intense passage in Matthew 7, and I want to remain in that mental/biblical space. Let’s get our bearings here…my goodness, Matthew’s gospel has been packed with such a beautiful treatise on our Lord’s life! By way of review and for a few new subscribers as well, Matthew, a Jewish man, wrote from a different perspective than the other three gospel writers; he wrote to convince the Jewish people that Jesus Christ was indeed their long-awaited Messiah. [Should you have an interest in looking back, go to www.pastorwoman.com, choose Powerful Bible Teaching, Morning Briefings (written), and then scroll down the left-hand side, and click on the underlined Matthew. There have been 96 writings so far out of this most amazing gospel.]
Just looking back at the briefing, ‘Gospel=Radical, Intro to Matthew’ (from website), puts a smile on my face. God takes unlikely people to tell his story—flawed, sinful, in-need-of-transformation, people just like me, just like you. Matthew was one such fella; he clearly had a brilliant mind, geared toward detail, which made him well suited to be an author, recounting much about the Messiah. On the other hand, he was a Jewish tax collector, hated by many, which made him a most unlikely candidate to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.
We will continue to revisit the launching of Jesus’ ministry, as well as unpack Matthew chapter 7, but I should like to invite you to look at all of this chapter—what we have already studied, and what we shall study. It is always important to view passages from the Word(s) of God in their context, not just in isolation.
Jesus was speaking to the disciples— 7 “Judge not, that you be not judged.
2For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
6 “Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.
7“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 9Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!
12 Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
13“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
21Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
24 “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
26 “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”
28 And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, 29 for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. New King James Version
Christine |
|
|
|
|
You need to be a member of All About GOD to add comments!
Join All About GOD