May 13, 2012
Ministry:
Read Matthew 12:24, and compare that with Isaiah 53:10 & 11. It is precious that we can have the Lord in the midst now. And we will rejoice when He will have us in His presence in that day.
Hymn 366 - We are little children, very young indeed
Prayer
Last time, we began the story of the woman at the well. Jesus had gone to the well for some water, but he had another reason for going to that well: there was a woman that needed him. Jesus told the woman that He could give her better water than she could ever draw from a well.
John 4:39 - 54
Vv. 39 - 42: After talking to Jesus, the woman went back to her town and told others about Him. Many people believed because of her testimony and many more believed when the Lord Jesus came to the town.
Vv. 43 - 45: After Jesus finished in Samaria, he went to Galilee. Some people came to see Him there: they had seen Jesus do miracles at a feast and had come to see a sign. I don’t believe these people had the same change of heart as the woman did. From there, Jesus travelled to Cana, where He had turned the water into wine.
Vv. 45 - 54: While in Cana, a nobleman came up to Jesus with a problem. His son was so sick he was going to die. I think this nobleman had another problem: Jesus was in Cana and this man’s son was in Capernaum. That was probably a half-day’s journey and the son might have been dead by the time Jesus got there. This man heard about Jesus and went to see him. He didn’t go to any of the professional doctors: he went to Jesus. Then he besought(or, begged) Jesus to go to his house and heal his son. Jesus wanted to test his faith, so instead of going with him to his house, He told to the man go home and that his son would be healed. This man must have believed Jesus, because he didn’t go straight to his house. When he got home the next day, his servants told him that his child had been healed the day before. This man had real faith. We need to be like him and trust the Lord in what He says.
Here is another case of Jesus dealing with individuals. We saw it in chapter 3 with Nicodemus, and now in chapter 4 with the woman and the nobleman. As we go on in John, we will see more individuals that Jesus dealt with.
Luke 12:1-21
Chapter 11 had a lot to do with the change from law to grace, but at the end of the chapter Jesus didn’t have much grace for the scribes and Pharisees who were hypocrites. Now in Chapter 12 we have a huge, innumerable crowd. However, it wasn’t the crowd that Jesus addressed, it was His disciples. He was speaking to those He would send out. Many of the people in the crowd had probably just come out to see a show, but our Lord wasn’t here to put on a spectacle.
As we mentioned, Jesus was talking about hypocrisy in the end of chapter eleven; and He references it here again, comparing it to leaven. By nature, leaven spreads. Jesus mentioned several types of leaven in the gospels; for example the leaven of the Sadducees or of Herod. Jesus wasn’t calling the disciples hypocrites, but He was warning them because stuff like hypocrisy spreads. We all want to look good, but we must make sure that our image is backed up by reality.
Jesus also didn’t tell his disciples to keep the Law of Mount Sinai, or the ten commandments, or the various ceremonies. These things didn’t work with people. Jesus told them that He was the light that wasn’t covered. He exposed and illuminated. The law never dealt with the heart, but now people’s hearts would be revealed. Darkness is a problem, and we must walk in the light as Jesus did.
Closet activities are those activities that you hope nobody ever sees or hears. That’s hypocrisy. There are no really true secrets, though, because “Thou God seest me” (Genesis 16:13). There is light, and God will deal with what He sees. He is the “the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” (James 1:17).
In verse 4, Jesus called the disciples “friends”. That’s precious. We have a friend that we can count on; One that sticks closer than a brother. Our Lord was telling His friends that they shouldn’t fear those who can only kill the body; but they should fear Him Who can cast into Hell. We can fear for our lives, but do we fear for our souls? That’s our most important part. Those who kill are men, but He Who deals with the soul is God. Evolutionists and the like probably don’t believe in a soul, because how can a soul evolve? Brother Gord once knew a doctor who said, “I’ve operated on all kinds of people, but I’ve never seen a soul.” Well, Jesus believed in souls, and He makes it clear that it is our most important part. It’s immortal and will live after death.
The law told us how to deal with externals, but now we are dealing with the body and the soul, Heaven and Hell, the light and the dark. Some here on earth deal with bodies. But God deals with the soul.
Hymn 351 - One door and only one
Prayer