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Matthew 15

Taught on | Topic: Jesus' ministry | Keywords: Pharisees, hypocrites, Canaanite woman, little dogs, faith, miracles

God is less concerned with the outward appearance than He is with the inward attitude. In this passage, Jesus boldly proclaims truth in a confrontation with the Pharisees, warning his followers to avoid hypocrisy. We also witness His tender response to the persistent faith of a Gentile woman, and His mercy for the multitudes. As we study Matthew 15, let's consider our own approach to Him: Do we recognize that we cannot live without Him?

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3/28/2012
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Matthew 15
Matthew 15
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God is less concerned with the outward appearance than He is with the inward attitude. In this passage, Jesus boldly proclaims truth in a confrontation with the Pharisees, warning his followers to avoid hypocrisy. We also witness His tender response to the persistent faith of a Gentile woman, and His mercy for the multitudes. As we study Matthew 15, let's consider our own approach to Him: Do we recognize that we cannot live without Him?
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40 Matthew - 2011

40 Matthew - 2011

From its opening genealogy through its careful record of Old Testament prophecies fulfilled, Matthew's gospel forms a bridge between the Old Testament and the New Testament. In this in-depth study by Pastor Skip Heitzig we'll consider Jesus' ancestry, birth, public ministry, death, and resurrection, and we'll gain a clearer understanding of Jesus as both Messiah and King.

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Study Guide

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Matthew 15
When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, “Hear and understand: Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.”
Matthew 15:10–11
PRAYER: Father, teach me to not transgress your commandments because of traditions, help me to beseech you in prayer with great faith and find myself at your feet as I study Matthew 15.
Journal your prayer here:






PREVIEW: In Matthew 15, we’ll see the scribes and Pharisee as blind guides leading their followers into a ditch. We will also see a Canaanite woman demonstrate great faith as she beseeches Jesus for the deliverance of her daughter. We also see many healed and filled as Jesus continues in His ministry.


Matthew 15 Outline:
Debate Over Tradition - Read Matthew 15:1-20
Jesus Heals the Gentile Woman’s Daughter - Read Matthew 15:21-28
Jesus Heals Many - Read Matthew 15:29-31
Jesus Feeds 4,000 - Read Matthew 15:32-39
PREPARE: Get ready to learn the importance of knowing what God’s commandments are versus man’s traditions, to learn an important lesson about our hearts, to see a Gentile woman pursue Jesus for her greatest need, and to see Jesus heal many as they lay at His feet.
Debate Over Tradition - Read Matthew 15:1-20
Matthew 15:1–20 (NKJV)
1 Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying,
2 “Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.”
3 He answered and said to them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?
4 For God commanded, saying, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’
5 But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God”—
6 then he need not honor his father or mother.’ Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition.
7 Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:
8 ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me.
9 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ”
10 When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, “Hear and understand:
11 Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.”
12 Then His disciples came and said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?”
13 But He answered and said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted.
14 Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.”
15 Then Peter answered and said to Him, “Explain this parable to us.”
16 So Jesus said, “Are you also still without understanding?
17 Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated?
18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man.
19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.
20 These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.”
1. The Jewish oral traditions were written and studied and became known as the Mishnah. One of these traditions dealt with the washing of hands before and during meals. What did the scribes and Pharisees say that Jesus’ disciples transgressed (v. 2)?




2. The word transgress means to violate a command or law. How did the scribes and Pharisee says Jesus’ disciples transgressed the oral tradition (v. 2)?




3. Jesus responds to the scribes and Pharisees’ accusations with an accusation of His own. What did Jesus say the scribes and Pharisees were guilty of transgressing (v. 3)?




4. How were the scribes and Pharisees guilty of this transgression (vv. 5-6)? (See also Mark 7:9-13)




5. What did Jesus say the result of the scribes and Pharisees transgression of the commandment of God to, “Honor your father and mother,” was (v. 6)?




6. PRODUCE: The scribes and Pharisees made God’s commandments of no effect by justifying their disobedience through their oral traditions. What are ways we as Christians justify our disobedience to God’s commandments?




7. PROCEED: The scribes and Pharisees had traditions that made God’s commandments, “of no effect.” Share with the group some modern day traditions that also make God’s commandments, “of no effect.”






8. Jesus calls the scribes and Pharisees, “Hypocrites!” (v.7). It's easy to say you love God, “draw near to Me with their mouth” (v.8), but Jesus said that loving Him is obeying His commandments (John 14:15, 21, 23). 9. How does the quote from Isaiah describe the heart and worship of those who don’t actually keep the commandments of God (vv.8-9)?






10. PROPOUND: Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men (v. 9b) is a very dangerous spiritually. Why? (See Colossians 2:20-23, Titus 1:10-16)






11. PRACTICE: It is important to obey God’s commands and not excuse your disobedience because of a tradition. How are we to be diligent in discerning what is a commandment of man that is being taught as doctrine and what is truly a commandment of God? (See Acts 17:11)


12. What was the response of the scribes and Pharisees to Jesus’ response about His disciples not washing their hands according to the oral traditions (v. 12)? (See also Matthew 11:6, Isaiah 8:14-15, Romans 9:32, and 1 Peter 2:8.)




13. PROPOUND: What do you think Jesus meant when He said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted,” (v. 13)? (See also Matthew 3:12, 13:30)




14. Jesus refers to the scribes and Pharisees as, “blind.” What is the problem with being blind? What becomes of those who are blind and guide others? What becomes of those who are guided by those who are blind? (See also Matthew 23:16-22, Luke 6:39, Proverbs 26:27)




15. PROPOUND: Think about the ditch that the blind guide and his followers fall into. What do you think a ditch is a picture of? (Isaiah 9:16, Malachi 2:8, Psalm 7:14-16)


16. Peter asks Jesus to explain the parable in Matthew 15:11 (v. 15). What become of that which goes enters the mouth (v. 17)?




17. Jesus is says that it is not what goes into your mouth that defiles you, rather it is what come out of your mouth that defiles you. Where does that which comes out of your mouth come from (v. 18)? (See also Luke 6:45, James 3:6)




18. What did Jesus say comes out of the heart? (v. 19)




19. PROCLAIM: Out of a man’s heart proceeds many evil thoughts. Share with the group how those evils get into the man’s heart. (See Jeremiah 17:9, Galatians 5:19-21)




20. PROPOUND: How can you tell what is stored in your heart? (See Luke 6:45)




21. PROTECT: God made a way for us to keep our hearts, which are desperately wicked, pure. Think about what it takes to keep your heart pure. (See John 17:17, 1 John 1:8-10) Share your thoughts with the group.


Jesus Heals the Gentile Woman’s Daughter - Read Matthew 15:21-28
Matthew 15:21–28 (NKJV)
21 Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon.
22 And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.”
23 But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, “Send her away, for she cries out after us.”
24 But He answered and said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
25 Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, help me!”
26 But He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.”
27 And she said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.”
28 Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.


22. Jesus went to Tyre and Sidon (v. 21), the Gentile coastal region of Phoenicia where He encountered a Canaanite woman (v. 22). What does she ask Jesus for (v. 22)?




23. What was Jesus’ initial response to her (v. 23)?




24. Jesus’ disciples urge Him to send the Canaanite woman away. What reason does Jesus give for not initially addressing her pleading (v. 24)? (See also Matthew 10:5-6)




25. PROMOTE: Despite not receiving a response from Jesus and the disciples’ urging Jesus to send her away, what does the Canaanite woman do (Matthew 15:25, Mark 7:25)? How is her response something we should do in our own life and tell others to do when they experience difficult situations?




26. Jews referred to Gentiles as dogs. Jesus used the word kynarion, the word for a household dog, a pet, when saying it isn’t good to give the children’s bread to the little dogs. What was the Canaanite woman’s response to Jesus’ response (v. 27)?




27. Jesus answered the Canaanite woman by calling her, “gune” or “woman.” This word is a term of respect, it is the same word He used when He spoke of His mother. What does Jesus tell her and what is done for her (v. 28)?
Jesus Heals Many - Read Matthew 15:29-31
Matthew 15:29–31 (NKJV)
29 Jesus departed from there, skirted the Sea of Galilee, and went up on the mountain and sat down there.
30 Then great multitudes came to Him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus’ feet, and He healed them.
31 So the multitude marveled when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.


28. Jesus departs the region of Tyre and Sidon and walks along (skirts) the Sea of Galillee. He goes up on a mountain and sits down. Who comes to Him and who do they bring with them (v. 30)?




29. PROPOUND: In Matthew 15:30, where are all those who need Jesus’ healing touch placed? Why is this a significant place to go when we or others in our lives need healing from Jesus? (See Mark 7:25; Luke 7:38; 8:41; 10:39)




30. What two things do the multitudes do when they see the mute speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing (v. 31)?


Jesus Feeds 4,000 - Read Matthew 15:32-39
Matthew 15:32–39 (NKJV)
32 Now Jesus called His disciples to Himself and said, “I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. And I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.”
33 Then His disciples said to Him, “Where could we get enough bread in the wilderness to fill such a great multitude?”
34 Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven, and a few little fish.”
35 So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.
36 And He took the seven loaves and the fish and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitude.
37 So they all ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets full of the fragments that were left.
38 Now those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.
39 And He sent away the multitude, got into the boat, and came to the region of Magdala.


31. Jesus calls His disciples to Himself to discuss the multitudes. How long had they continued with Him and what did Jesus have on them (v. 32)?




32. What dilemma did the disciple face (v. 33)?




33. How does Jesus resolve the disciple’s dilemma (vv. 34-36)?




34. The multitudes along with Jesus and His disciples all ate and were filled. Approximately how many people ate (v. 38)? How much food was left over (v. 37)? What word describes the baskets (v. 37)?






PROCESS: Review what you’ve learned in Matthew 15. Highlight what the Lord has shown you and share it with the group.
PRAY: Father, thank You for the wonderful lessons I’ve learned studying Matthew 15. Please help me to put them into practice.
Journal your prayer here:




Detailed Notes

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  1. Introduction
    1. What Jesus is like
      1. People have a false view
        1. Sunday school Jesus
        2. "Gentle Jesus, meek and mild,
          Look upon this little child"
      2. Gentle and compassionate
      3. Confrontational, depending on who He is dealing with
      4. Radical, non-conformist
        1. Did not conform to societal standards
        2. Did not conform to religious practices
        3. Held tenaciously to God's Word
        4. Against religious traditions
          1. Covered the truth
          2. Made it difficult to access the truth
    2. New Testament groups
      1. History
        1. Developed during 400 years between Old and New Testaments
        2. Jews in captivity 70 years
        3. Came back with a desire to please God
      2. Scribes
        1. Founded by Ezra
        2. Originally copied sections of the Torah
        3. Eventually wrote and debated interpretations of the Law
        4. Their comments became a law
        5. More interested in the letter of the law than the spirit of the law
      3. Pharisees
        1. פרושים; parushim- separated
        2. Started well
        3. Desired to be separate from the world, foreign influence, idolatry
        4. Sold out to God
        5. Became legalistic
      4. Sadducees
        1. Liberal
        2. Did not believe in the Law, miracles or a literal physical resurrection
        3. Politically inclined
        4. Wealthy aristocrats
        5. Social conscience
        6. Wanted peace with Rome
        7. Not great enemies of Jesus in the gospels
        8. Great enemies of the church in Acts
      5. Herodians
        1. Jewish nationalists
        2. Sided with the Herods, who had built the temple
    3. Hypocrites
      1. Jesus not looking for trouble—trouble found Him
      2. Jesus unafraid of confrontation
      3. Hypocrite comes from Greek term for an actor on stage
      4. One who lived behind a mask
      5. Every area of life has hypocrites
      6. Spiritual hypocrites are the worst
      7. Jesus did not hold back against hypocrisy (see Matthew 23)
  2. Tussle over tradition
    1. Setting
      1. Jesus had been miraculously healing people in Galilee
        1. Blind see
        2. Deaf hear
        3. Lame walk
        4. Wither hands work
        5. Dead raised
      2. News spread quickly
      3. Incurred interest of religious in Jerusalem
      4. Probably a delegation of the Sanhedrin makes up the Scribes and Pharisees who confront Jesus
      5. Public rebuke
    2. Oral law
      1. Tradition of the elders
      2. Body of rabbinic literature
      3. Later codified in the Mishnah and Talmud
        1. Talmud: 63 books in 8 volumes
        2. As binding to devout Jews as Scripture itself
        3. According to Rabbi Akiba (contemporary of Matthew), the traditions of the Law act as a fence around the law
          1. Seyag ha-Torah in Hebrew "fence of the Law"
          2. Tradition to keep people from breaking the Law
      4. Problems with rules and regulations
        1. You can perform them mechanically
        2. Your heart doesn't have to be in it
    3. Wash Hands
      1. Not hygiene: ritual
      2. Elaborate hand-washing ceremony of the oral law
        1. Hands place up before you, water poured at fingertips, rand down hands and fell off at the bend of the wrist
        2. Hands pointed down, water poured at wrists, ran down hands and fell off at fingertips
        3. Hands dried by rubbing in open palms
        4. Practiced before every meal and between every course
      3. Religious superstition: Shibtah (a demon) who attached to hands as one slept; touch food and ingest a demon)
    4. Jesus' answer
      1. Not argument about Scripture, but tradition
      2. As in Fiddler on the Roof: that which preserves tradition perforated Tevye's relationship with his daughter
      3. Scripture twisted in the oral law
        1. Corban: dedicated to God's exclusive purpose
        2. Kept and used
        3. A way out of the fifth commandment
      4. Traditions
        1. Be careful of traditions
          1. Is it established according to Scripture?
          2. Just a convenient way to apply Scripture?
        2. Traditions can remind us of important spiritual truths
          1. "Stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle" (2 Thessalonians 2:15)
          2. Peter pointed to the prophets to validate what was happening (see Acts 2:14-21)
        3. Traditions in spiritual community can be obstructive and destructive even prohibit spiritual life
      5. Hypocrites!
        1. Hypocrites fulfill Scripture they are meticulous about keeping and memorizing
        2. Scathing, indicting words
        3. Jesus uses term 23 times in the New Testament
        4. 21 times used in regard to religious hypocrites
        5. Preach by the yard, practice by the inch, Jesus deals with them by the foot!
      6. Jesus addresses crowd about the Pharisees
        1. Hear and understand: pay close attention
        2. Under Levitical code: some foods were prohibited by God
          1. Animals that didn't chew the cud
          2. Animals that didn't have cloven hooves
          3. Fish without fins and scales
        3. To protect physical health
        4. A picture of defilement or sin
        5. Religious traditionalists focus on the outward; God focuses on the inward
        6. Sermon on the Mount: "You have heard that it was said….But I say to you" (see Matthew 5)
        7. Disciples question whether Jesus knew he offended the Pharisees
          1. He meant to offend Pharisees
          2. Undermining their false trust in their religious system
        8. Pharisees weren't God's plants, they were tares
        9. Marks of Hypocrites
          1. Offended by truth
          2. Destined for judgment
        10. Jesus condemned both the sin and the sinner
        11. Let them alone: stay away from them
      7. Jesus' explanation
        1. Peter walking with Jesus 2 years, didn't understand
        2. Heart: seat of human motives, will, desires, thinking
          1. "For as he thinks in his heart, so is he" (Proverbs 23:7)
          2. "Why do you think evil in your hearts?" (Matthew 9:4)
        3. Not defiled by your diet; filth comes form the heart, through the mouth
          1. Worse than what goes into the sewer
          2. "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:9)
          3. "Therefore circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and be stiff-necked no longer" (Deuteronomy 10:16)
          4. Whether vegan, carnivore, junk food junkie not the issue: heart is the issue
  3. Crumbs for a Canaanite
    1.  Jesus went north to Tyre and Sidon
      1. Tyre: 35 miles from Galilee
      2. Sidon: 60 miles from Galilee
      3. Ancient Phoenicia; modern-day Lebanon
    2. Canaanite woman
      1. Canaanites: immoral race which God marked for extinction
      2. Gentile addressing Jesus by His Jewish covenant name; Messianic  title
      3. "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (v. 24)
        1. " He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him" (John 1:11)
        2. "First for the Jew, then for the Gentile" (Romans 1:16 NIV)
        3. Jesus came as Messiah for Israel
      4. Knows her only hope is Jesus
      5. New approach: not as a Jew to Messiah, but as creature to Creator
    3. Little dogs
      1. Context: home dinner table
      2. Language
        1. Jews called gentiles "dogs"—scavenger dogs
        2. Jesus calls her "pet puppy"
    4. She knew her place
      1. Not under the covenant
      2. The leftover mercy is enough to heal her daughter
    5. Persistent, humble faith:  "Ask, seek, knock" —continually
  4. Mercy on the Mountain
    1. Not everyone came to Jesus
      1. Many were interested
        1. Some came to hear Him speak
        2. Some came for free lunch
      2. Who really came?
        1. Those who knew they couldn't live without Him
          1. The lame
          2. The maimed
          3. The blind
          4. Aware of their need
        2. Know their need, admit their need,
        3. Know they aren't good enough
    2. Fed 4000
      1. Similar to feeding of 5000
      2. Differences
        1. 5000: with Jesus for 1 day/4000: with Jesus 3 days
        2. 5000: sat on the grass (late winter, early spring)/ 4000: sat on the ground (summer)
        3. 5000: five loaves and two fish/4000: seven loaves and a few fish
        4. 5000: 12 baskets left over/4000: 7 large baskets leftover
        5. 5000: near Galilee; Jewish community/4000 Decapolis; Ten Gentile cities
    3. How will we feed them?
      1. Forgot the feeding of the 5000: How soon we forget!
      2. If we can't figure it out, we think it can't be done
      3. Sarah laughed about getting pregnant
      4. Like a 747; some laws supersede others
      5. Miracles: God has another set of laws
    4. Jesus used what was there; used people who were there
      1. How evangelism takes place: God's life-changing message entrusted to us
      2. He could use angels, as He will during the tribulation
    5. They went to Magdala: North of Tiberius

Hebrew terms: פרושים; parushim- separated; Seyag ha-Torah: fence of the Law
Publications referenced: Fiddler on the Roof
Figures referenced: Rabbi Akiba
Cross references: Deuteronomy 10:16; Proverbs 23:7; Jeremiah 17:9; Matthew 5; Matthew 9:4; Matthew 23; John 1:11; Acts 2:14-21; Romans 1:16; 2 Thessalonians 2:15

Transcript

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Let's pray.  Father thank you for your faithfulness to us, thank you for your promises, so many of which we have seen come true in our lives.  We've seen how good You are, we have tasted, and we believe and we know.

Father, I pray that tonight, You would not only further our acquiring of information but provide real inspiration to touch us in the deepest part of our beings.  That we would know what certain truths mean to us, how our response is to be to them, lest we become like some of the people that Jesus denounced even in the passage we're about to read.  We set aside this time aside for you to speak and we pray that You would in Jesus name, Amen. 

I do feel that some people have a picture of Jesus that is a false picture, I call it the Sunday School of Jesus.  It's how they have chosen to picture Jesus in their minds.  It's a nice picture, but it's an inaccurate one.

Jesus, the one who like to pat little children on the head and heal birds who had broken wings and sit over in the side lying just sort of smiling as people would walk by and, that's Jesus, gentle Jesus, meek and mild look upon this little child.  Jesus was wonderfully gentle and compassionate.  At the same time, he could be very confrontational.  It really depended on who you were in front of him.  If you are trying to put on a show, put on an act, put on a mask, play the hypocrite or be sincere, confess you need, and be who you really are.

So Chapter 15 helps us to dispense off the Sunday School of Jesus and gives us the real Jesus, as he confronts a group of Scribes and Pharisees.  In many ways, Jesus Christ was radical. He was a non-conformist; he did not conform to the societal standards of his day, to the spiritual religious practices of his day.  He would hold tenaciously to the ancient truth that was God's revealed word, but he would bristle hard against traditions, religious traditions that covered over the truth, or made it hard to access the truth, as we're going to see here.

Now I think it's helpful for you to identify a few groups in the New Testament.  You read their names but if you read the Bible through, and you go from the Old Testament to the New Testament, you wonder where these guys come from because they're not mentioned in the Old Testament, but you open the New Testament and suddenly you have groups like Scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, Herodians.  Who are they and where do they come from?

Not all of them, but many of them appeared in that 400 years gap between the Old Testament and the New Testament.  The Jews had been in captivity; you know this, for 70 years.  When they came back, humbled, desirous to do the will of God nationally and to please God, groups formed.  First of all there were the Scribes, that was a group that really was started by Ezra in the Old Testament.  He is called "the Scribe" and he is regarded as the first scribe.

Originally the scribe would copy portions of the scripture, the Old Testament Torah, the first five books of Moses.  And make them available to people when they came back from the captivity.  But eventually, the scribes wrote down comments and debated those comments interpretation of portions of the laws asking questions like, what would Moses do in this situation or that situation, and they would discuss and write those down.

And those comments became a law to themselves.

It's sort of like, if you get a good study Bible that has notes by an author at the bottom of the page, and you start regarding the notes at the bottom of the page on equal footing with the words above the notes, the text of scripture itself.  The oral law was something that was written down, discussed, codified by the scribes eventually by the time of Jesus Christ in the New Testament.

The Scribes, though they started well, became nitpickers, became those who were more interested in the letter of the law than the spirit of the law itself.  A second group were Pharisees, from a Hebrew word, "Parasim."  The word "Parasim" means "To be separated" and they started out so well.  The Pharisees began after the Babylonian captivity with the heartfelt desire that we're going to be separated from the world, separated from foreign influences from idolatry totally sold out to God.  But as time went on, they became so separated it became ridiculous and they became very legalistic. 

Third group was the Sadducees, and I'm not going to make a typical crack that I make when we get to this.  The Sadducees were the liberals, they did not believe in the oral law, they did not believe in miracles, they did not believe in our physical literal resurrection from the dead.  They were liberals, they were more politically inclined, they were wealthy aristocrats that had a social conscience, it was more about social activity and less about what the Bible says.

They wanted to make peace with people like the Romans, and just, you know, not, bug the system much but just live in peace with all people but not really believe in the text of scripture.  They really aren't enemies of Jesus much, in the New Testament until we get to the Book of Acts; they become enemies of the early church.  And it's easy to see why.  The early church believed and taught and preached the resurrection from the dead everywhere they went.  They didn't believe in the resurrection, hence the Sadducees became the enemies during that period.

Our fourth group are called the Herodians.  The Herodians were Jewish nationalist who sided with the Herod family that we discussed last time.  And wanted to keep the Herod family in power after all, it was Herod the Great who built the Jews their wonderful temple, and allowed the temple worship to go on.  So they sided with the Herods and they were sort of in linked with them.

Jesus did not go looking for trouble, trouble found him, and he was unafraid of the confrontation though he didn't look for trouble when there was a problem and issue, he would confront it head on.  And one of the biggest problems Jesus dealt with, were a group, in all of those different groups that I mentioned, that he gives a new name to.  He doesn't call them Scribes, Pharisees, Herodians, Sadducees; he calls them "Hypocrites".

A term they were familiar with, it was a Greek term.  It spoke about an actor on the stage who would live his life behind a mask, that's what the actors were like back then.  They didn't assume bit parts like they do today.  They just wore a mask, a sad mask or a happy mask, and they would have speaking parts, but the idea of a hypocrite was somebody who lives behind a mask, an actor.

Every area of life has it's hypocrites.  The worst are spiritual hypocrites.  And Jesus unloads, whenever he dealt with spiritual hypocrisy, he didn't hold anything back, he didn't pull any of his punches.  He let them have it.  You'll really see this when we get to Chapter 23 which will be a while, but we'll get there.

There was a pastor who was visited by a man because the man's brother died.  The pastor knew the brothers, they were notorious in the town for being scandalous, bar hoppers, partiers, scoundrels, womanizers just low-lifes -- he knew that.

But one of the brothers died and the remaining brother went to the pastor and said "I'd like you to do my brothers funeral."  The pastor said, "I'd be happy to".  And the surviving brother said, there's just one hitch.  In your funeral message, I want you to say that my brother was a saint.  The pastor said, "I can't do that, I'd be lying."  We both know and the whole community knows he wasn't a saint.  He was a scoundrel."  "I know that pastor, but it's my brother.  This is the last memorial for him and I'd like you to say that my brother was a saint, would you do that?  If you do it, there's a lot of money in it for you."

The pastor thought about it and he sad, "All right, I can do that."  The day for the funeral came and the pastor stood up, said several words during that message and then he said these words, "All of you here today know about this man who is lying in the casket here.  He was a scoundrel, he was a womanizer, he was a drunk, he was a drug addict, he was a low-life, but compared to his brother sitting here on the front row, the man was a saint".

He didn't want to be a hypocrite, he kept his promise and he told the truth.  We read in Verse 1, "Then the Scribes and the Pharisees who were from Jerusalem, came to Jesus saying" --now it's good to link one chapter to another chapter -- "Jesus has been healing people in Galilee, miraculously."  I mean people who are blind, they can now open their eyes and see things they never could before.  Those who had no hearing can hear sounds they've never heard before.  People who were lame could walk.  Those with withered hands had full use of them.  The dead were being raised and that kind of news spreads quickly and attracts attention.

One thing for sure, the doctors in Galilee could take a vacation while Jesus was around, that's one nice thing for them.  They didn't really need them anymore for a while because Jesus just would touch a person and make them completely whole.  But because the news of that would spread, it would incur lots of interests, especially from the religious hierarchy of the Jewish people down in Jerusalem.  Now Jerusalem is a hundred miles away from Galilee.

You have to be intentionable, attentional about making a walk, making trip from Jerusalem to Galilee but probably the rulers of the synagogues in that area made a request that a special delegation approved by the 70-ruling elders, the Sanhedrin, would check this Jesus out because he had been healing so long.  And so they came.  The Scribes and the Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus saying, "Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders, for they do not wash their hands when they eat bread?"

This was probably a public review Jesus spent so much of his time out in public, whether it was in a house teaching or addressing the crowds from town to town, or out on the country side and probably the delegation came with their long robes and they would just make a scene as they would walk right up to wherever Jesus was and publicly asked this kind of a question, "Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders?".  What do they mean by that?  They meant the Oral Law.  The Oral Law, the tradition of the elders was the body of rabbinic literature that had been discussed and written down codified as I mentioned, after years and years known as the Mishnah and then the Talmud.

And that's a lot of literature; the Jewish Talmud had 63 books and is typically printed in 18 volumes.  In many cases, those adjudications or those findings by the ancient rabbis or the Scribes that were argued upon and then written down, were as binding to the devout Jew as the Word of God, the scripture itself.

There was a famous rabbi in Jewish history called Rabbi Akiba, he was a contemporary actually of Matthew who wrote the Gospel.  Rabbi Akiba talked about the tradition of Judaism, the many traditions as a fence around the law.  Seyag ha-Torah he was called in Hebrew, the fence of the law.  The idea is that when we have our traditions, we have them so that it will help you not break what the Word of God says.  So you keep these traditions and we'll impose enough of them and we'll make them steep enough so that you can't even get close to breaking the law.

That is the letter of the law, though you could break the heart of the law because once you have lots of rules and regulations, you have a problem.  You can perform rules and regulations mechanically; your heart doesn't have to be in there.  In it there's no real sincerity, it doesn't have to be.  It could be the best if it is.  But you can go through the motions and do it perfunctorily, mechanically, without real thought and break the very heart of the law itself.

But they came from Jerusalem and they noticed probably at a meal that the disciples were just sort of digging in, eating away, and so Jesus is approached by this steer delegation, why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders for they do not wash their hands when they eat?  This has nothing to do with hygiene.  This has everything to do with ritual.  I mean to travel a hundred miles and say, "You know, I noticed you didn't wash you hands."  That's kind of like crazy.  I mean my mom was a stickler for me washing my hands, by she wouldn't do this.

It has nothing to do with hygiene.  Not like, "You should clean your hands before you eat".  There was a tradition, an elaborate hand washing ceremony that had been added in the Oral Law.  It's not in the Law of God, it's not in the Bible but it was demanded.  All right here's the deal.  Your hands would be placed like this before you eat a meal up.  Water would be poured from the fingertips, it would run down the hands, you bend at the wrist and the water would fall off the wrist.  Then you would reverse that and water would be poured on the wrist down to the fingers, number two.

Number three, you would dry your hands by moving your hands in open palm, in a fist, open palm and a fist, and dry it like that.  The pious Jew did that, not only before every meal, but between every course of a meal.  You won't find it in the Bible, but they did it.  It was a tradition of the elders.  And the disciples didn't do it.  And so they approached Jesus and they mentioned that.

I've got to tell you another little tradition.  Superstition has a way of working its way into any religious system.  I think of this what I'm about to tell you and I automatically think I know Christians that are as superstitious as this.  The Jews believed that there was a demon called Shibta that could attach itself to your hands while you were asleep.  And because it was on your hands, if you touch food, you could ingest the demon by eating the food.  So that's why you had to wash your hands elaborately to wash away the demon which is sort of interesting that all I got to do is wash your hands and the demon goes away, it's pretty cool.

But it put people in fear, so people would go through the ritual and the regulation out of fear and not out of love, not out of real sincerity but, "I don't want a demon inside of me".

And so look what Jesus said.  He answered and said to them, "Why do you transgress the Commandment of God?  Because of your traditions", you see the question they ask is, "Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders?" Jesus says "Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?"

So the argument here isn't about scriptures, about tradition.  Tradition, remember Fiddler on the Roof?  Remember Tavia?  And that opening song about tradition and he was happy that tradition preserved the customs of Judaism and would bind the people together generation after generation.  But he discovered over time that which preserved the Jewish people also perforated his own relationship with his daughter who wanted to date somebody and marry somebody he didn't approve of, who wasn't to that sort.

So this is like the New Testament equivalent Fiddler on the Roof, this is Pharisee on the Roof.  Why do you transgress the Commandment of God because of your tradition for God commanded saying, "Honor your father and your mother and he who curses father or mother let him be put to death," he is quoting the Fifth Commandment.  But you say, "Who ever says to his father or mother, whatever, prophet you might have received from me is a gift to God.  Then he need not honor his father or mother, thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition." 

What was Jesus speaking about?  He's speaking about a way that scripture had been twisted by these traditionalists in the Oral Law.  They had a thing called "corban", and corban meant "dedicated".  So let's say you have something and your parents were suffering and they needed to be taken cared of.  You had an extra cash or you had an extra bed or you had an extra chair that they could have and they don't have a chair.

And so they come in and they say "Son, your mother and I, we're not doing very well.  We could really use your help."  You could say if you were this heartless and this is much of a creep.  You could say, "Dad, boy I'm so sorry and I'd love to help you but this chair, this bed, and this money in my bank account is corban, it's dedicated to God I can't touch it".  Because it has been dedicated you've gone through the formula of simply saying corban over it.  I have dedicated this to God, now it's for God's exclusive purpose, just like anything that was used in the temple.

Here's the catch.  Though it was dedicated to God, you could still keep it at home and use it.  If at anytime you wanted to use it for yourself, you could just use it for yourself and then later on you could say corban over it again and dedicate it again.  So it was a scam and it was a way of getting out of the plainly written Fifth Commandment; "Honor your father and your mother."

So Jesus says, "By this, you are making the commandment that clear unmistakable principle of scripture of no effect by your tradition."  Be careful of traditions.  "We've always done it that way", is the mantra of many churches, and many groups within churches.  "Don't change anything, we've always done it that way", okay.  I'm glad you've always done it that way but are you sure that that way that you've always done it is according to the scripture or is it just a convenient way of you applying it?

There's nothing wrong with tradition, it reminds us of important truths.  Paul said that we were to keep the traditions that he passed down to the church.  But those were the traditions that were rooted in the scripture.  You see, Peter was able to say when on the day of Pentecost they said, "What is that?" He said, "This is that", which was spoken up by the prophet.  And he was able to point to the scripture to validate a practice that was going on.  We should always be able to do the same.  And traditions within spiritual faith communities can be some of the most destructive and obstructive things that prohibit spiritual life.

So Jesus said, "You are canceling God's word by your tradition."  So look at Verse 7, "Hypocrites"-- boy I'd hate to be called that by Jesus.  Well did I say I prophesy about you saying, he's saying "Look, now I know who you guys are, you guys fulfil the very scripture that you're so metecious about memorizing and keeping, you're keeping the scripture.  And here's the scripture.  "These people draw near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips but their heart is far from me.  In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men."

Nobody likes the word hypocrite.  It's a skating word, it's an indicting word.  Anybody who is called a hypocrite, boy, that gets us.  But Jesus used the word 23 times in the New Testament.  21 of those 23 times speaking about religious hypocrites.  And again in Chapter 23 he will really unload.  The reason he calls them hypocrites is simple, because they preached by the yard but practiced by the inch.  And so Jesus dealt with them by the foot.

He gave them a swift spiritual kick, "Hypocrites, you're fulfilling what Isaiah the prophet said that, "It's all mouth, it's all words but it's far from you heart".  You're doing it in a very mechanical way, but your heart is not in it.

When he had called the multitude to himself, he said with them, so just picture the scene, wherever Jesus was when the delegation came, and with their robes and their pious announcement ask the question, "Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders?", Jesus said publicly to them, "Why do you transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?"  So this just sort of put them in their place then Jesus speaks to the crowd about the Pharisees.  When he called the multitude to himself he said to them, "Hear and understand", that is to pay very close attention to what I'm about to say.

Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.  Okay, stop right there.  If we were reading the book of Leviticus the law, the scripture, we would discover that certain things that go in to a man do defile a man.  There were certain foods that God prohibited them from eating.  An animal that doesn't chew the cud prohibited, an animal that doesn't have clawed and hooves prohibited.  A fish that doesn't have fins and scales prohibited, mollusks prohibited.

All of those were prohibitions in the law, so that if you eat them you could be defiled.  However, the reason God gave those commandments in the Old Covenant was to protect them in their physical health, in their well-being.  They didn't have the capacities that we have now.  So God said, Separate yourself from them."  Clean and unclean animals, it was all a means of protecting them.  And what it was, was a picture of defilement and a picture of sin God never said that those things were sinful.  He says, "Don't eat them or you'll be defiled," and then there were rituals to get back on track for that.

But they were a picture of the defilement of sin, and it was, to be a picture of something that outward was to be a picture of something that was inward.  So here Jesus says, "Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man but what comes out of his mouth that defiles a man."  Religious people traditionalists, people who lean toward their tradition more than scripture, and make it all about keeping the rules and the regulation.  They place all of the emphasis on outward when God places it all on the inward. 

No, I'm not going to cover this too much in depth because we've done it on the Sermon on the Mount.  Jesus would say you've heard that it was said by those of old and he would quote a law but I say unto you, and then he revealed that, the real issue God was dealing with wasn't just the outward behavior but the inward attitude whatever was lost or murdered, etc.  He was dealing with the hard attitude, the inward not the outward. 

Look at Verse 12, "Then his disciples came and said to him--" this is probably some time afterward he talked to the crowd about the Scribes and the Pharisees about what this conversation going up.  "His disciples came to him and said, 'Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?"  Now you answer that question, did Jesus know that they were offended?

Of course he did, he meant to offend them that was the intention of it.  He was undercutting and undermining their false trust in their legalistic religion, on purpose.  Gentle Jesus, meek and mild, look upon this little child, "Do you know that you offended them?"  Jesus is going, "Uh-huh".

Don't you guys get it?  They came publicly in front of this crowd.  I want this crowd to know that the leaders they've been following have placed the wrong emphasis on the wrong things when it's all about the heart.  But he answered and said, "Every plant, which my heavenly father has not planted, will be uprooted", what does that remind you of?  The Parable of the Tares and the Wheat, remember?  The wheat are true believers, the tares are false believers.  They look at the beginning stages very similar.  The Pharisees sounded so sincere, so religious.  They're really believing and really trying to get other people to follow God with all of their heart.  And they're offended by the truth.  Now mark this, one of the mark of a hypocrite is they will be offended by truth.

A hypocrite will always be offended by the truth of scripture; they hate the truth of scripture.  It's not ambiguous enough for them, there's not a lot of latitude in the black and white of the Bible.  And a mark of a hypocrite is their reaction to the truth, is they'll be offended by it.  Another mark of a hypocrite according to these verses is that they are destined for judgment.  "Just wait", Jesus said, "There's coming a time, because they're not God's plant, they're not planted by my father, they're the tares and the wheat.  They're going to be uprooted.  They're not going to last, they're not going to be able to withstand God's judgement, they are destined for judgment."

So, I find it interesting that in this case, Jesus is condemning the sin and the sinner together.  Not one or the other, both.  Both, if they persist in the sin of hypocrisy, their doom is judgment.  That's their end.  They will be uprooted.  Now Jesus says this, "Let them alone".  Leave them alone.  It could be translated stay away from them, don't mingle with them, don't be around people who are perpetually degrading and denigrating the word of God.  Stay far away from that type.  Stay away from the hypocrite.  Let them alone, they are blind leaders of the blind and if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.

Then Peter answered and said to him.  Got to love Peter.  "Could you like explain this parable to us?"  Peter is still thinking about food.  Oh you were talking about like eating stuff and what goes in to a man?  Could you like go over that one more time?  Now when the clergy don't understand spiritual truth, you know you got problems.  Peter has been following Jesus for two years.  Two years, he's got some answers right and some answers wrong.  But two years, so Jesus says, here's his response to him, "Are you also still without understanding?  Are you like the crowds?  Are you like the average person?  We've been together, you know what I emphasize, you know more truth than the average bear.  Are you also still without understanding?  Do you not yet understand that what ever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated?"

But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man.  For out of a heart proceed evil thoughts; murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies -- these are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man. 

The heart, that is not the organ that pumps blood, when Jesus uses this term.  The heart, where you do your thinking, that's the heart in the Bible.  Where you do your processing, that's the heart.  Where you're motives are, the seat of your motives, your will, that's the heart.

Proverbs 23, "As a man thinks in his heart, so is he."  Jesus said, at one point in his ministry, "Why do you think evil in your heart?  It's the place where you think, is your heart.  It's what proceeds out of that.

You don't get defiled by your diet.  You eat food; it goes in to your stomach.  It's processed; it's broken down by the acids.  It goes into the duodenum and the small intestine and the large intestine.  It works its way through the alimentary canal that which is not appropriated is eventually eliminated.  But the real filth comes from the heart through the mouth, what comes out of the heart through the mouth is worse than what goes in to the sewer sometimes, that's what he's saying.  That's where the defilement comes in, it's the human heart.  The prophet said, the heart is deceitful above everything, desperately wicked.  Who can know it?

That's why God in the Old Testament said, "Circumcise or cut away your hearts", don't just be religious people going to the motions but cut away those fleshly desires from your heart.  These are the things which defile a man.  But to eat with unwashed hands, does not defile a man.  It doesn't matter if you're a vegan, a carnivore, a junk food junky.  None of that has anything to do with your spirituality.

When I was single, living in the Huntington Beach California, I was outside on a sunny day, sort of like today.  It was just beautiful.  It was June; it was about 75 degrees, enjoying the sunshine and the day.  I had my Bible and I'm looking down reading it in my front porch.  And I noticed sandals walk up to me.  I'm looking down so I noticed a pair of feet and attached to the feet, it looks like a robe.  A flowing white robe with sandals comes walking up to me.  So I'm thinking, I'm a young Christian, I'm thinking, "Maybe this is it.  So this is how it's going to happen, huh?"  I look up and there's a bearded man, with long hair.  And the sun is right like right behind his hair, so you know what I'm thinking and I'm going, "Oh, your here!"

Until he started talking, then I know it's not the Lord because he didn't say, "Do you know Jesus" or "Can I talk to you about your spiritual walk, talk to you about the cross of gospel?"  He said to me "Do you eat meat?"  I'm thinking and I don't know.  I've heard a lot of like opening lines before, but do you eat meat is not one of them.  Not how are you, what's your name, "Do you eat meat?"  A bearded guy with a white robe and sandals, "Do you eat meat?"  What is this guy, he work for Oscar Mayer?  I don't get this.

Now I think I had an actual Big Mac, I think I had a McDonald's like in a bag next to me.  I said, "Well I do eat meat".  And he started -- he proceeded to condemn me in my walk with God, because he saw that I had a Bible so he thought, "I'm going to ask this guy if he's a vegetarian."  And he went on this whole thing about a spiritual diet pleasing to God.  And the guy I just knew, he was a false prophet.  So I stoned him -- no, I'm just kidding.

That's right I'm in the New Testament on that view.  Don't let anybody give you a trip about what you can and can't eat.  That's what they were doing then.  Jesus said, "It's what comes out of you, not what goes in to you."  It's the heart of a person; it's the sinful nature of a human being, that's where the evil needs to be checked.

Then Jesus went out from there and he departed from there to the region of Tyre and Sidon.  So now he's going far north, 35 miles north, 60 miles north, Tyre and Sidon, it's up in Phoenicia.  It's modern day Lebanon.  And behold a woman of Canon came out from that region and cried out to him saying, "Have mercy on me oh Lord, son of David.  My daughter is severely demon possessed."

This is an interesting story because this woman, a Canaanite woman, one of the condemned races from the Old Testament.  She's a survivor, a hanger-on, she's living in that area.  And she as a Gentile, as a non-Jew addresses Jesus with a messianic Jewish title, "Son of David".  I wonder how she knew that.  She identified him as the Son of David, I know who you are and you're the Messiah of the Jews.  Now she was not Jewish, she had no claim on Jesus as her Messiah because she wasn't part of the covenant people but she addressed him as that.

"Son of David, my daughter is severely demon possessed," but he answered her not a word.  And the disciples came and urged him saying, "Send her away, for she cries out after us."  You wouldn't want these guys counseling anyone in church would you?

'Get him out of here", Mr. Sensitive here.  I think what they're saying is like, "Help this lady, so we can get rid of her."  And they're sort of surprised that knowing Jesus, how compassionate he was, he's not doing anything.  She's crying after us, but he answered and said, "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.  Jesus is stating his mission, he came on to his own, that is his own people.  And his own received him not, Paul's formula was to the Jew first and then also to the Greek.

So he is simply stating his primary reason coming as the Messiah for Israel under the covenant stipulations of the Old Testament, that's why I was sent.  Now listen to her.  Then she came and worshipped him saying, "Lord help me".  Now she's unflustered by this, she doesn't go "Oh okay, well I'll go now."  She has a direct approach; she knows that the only hope for her daughter is this Jesus.  If he doesn't help her, she's not going to get help.  So instead of approaching her now as a Messianic Title, if I can approach you as a Jew, speak in to her Messiah then I approach you as a creature approaching her creator, "Lord help me".

But he answered and said, "It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs."  Are you offended yet?  She said, "Yes lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters table," and Jesus answered and said to her, "Oh woman, great is your faith.  Let it be to you as you desire," and her daughter was healed from that very hour.  Now let me give you two things to help you understand what was just going on.  Number one, context.  Number two, language.

Context, the setting as a dinner table in a home where you have a pet at home, a doggy looking for crumbs.  Do you have a dog at home that does that?  I do and I spoil my dog.  Number two is language.  The word that Jesus uses for dog is aptly translated "little dog".  In Greek it's the diminutive form of another word that is used generally for a dog.  That's the scavenger type of dog, the kind that runs in packs, the mongrel type of dog.  But the word Jesus uses is a diminutive form of that which means and can only mean a pet, a little puppy, fido.  Or in my case Mac, that's my dog's name.  Mac's always into the dinner table and always knows that I'm an easy target.

If there's anybody else in the dinner table, he just kind of boom comes right behind me, because he knows that I'm the one.  I do, I spoil him.  So Jesus uses the term, "Little dog", speaking to this lady and here's why.  The Jews would call Gentiles many times, "dogs", Gentile dogs.  They meant the scavenger dog that goes in packs. 

Jesus uses a different term for the Gentile, "a little pet", "a puppy dog".  And he does that to draw out her faith and it works, because her response and it is beautiful and that's why Jesus remarked on it, is "Yes Lord."  Even the little dogs eat crumbs which fall from the masters table.  She's saying, "You know what?  I know my place, I'm not under the covenant that the Jewish people are under, I don't have the right to ask for the choice morsels, like the covenant people of the Jews, I just want the leftovers.  Just throw me the scraps." 

"Could you just give me the left over mercy?  That will be enough to heal my daughter.  That's all I want.  I have no claim on you, you're not my Messiah.  You're the Jewish Messiah, I get that.  And so I take my place at your table Lord, as my master and I am the little pet puppy.  Would you just throw me a scrap?"  And that's why Jesus said, "Oh woman, great is your faith, let it be to you as you desire".

Her faith was persistent faith.  Jesus said, ask, seek not, it means, continually do it.  You know, what if she would have said, "Okay, well.  See you, bye."  And she goes, "Oh wait, son of David," no answer.  "Get rid of her, get her out of here."  I said, "Look, I have come for just the lost sheep at the house of Israel."  "Lord, help me."  Well you know, it's not right for me to take this food that is a portion for the covenant people, the children of Israel and give it to the little pet puppies.  "I know I'm a pet puppy just throw me a scrap," persistent faith and humble faith.  And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

Jesus departed from there, skirt of the Sea of Galilee, and went to the mountain and sat down there.  And great multitudes came to him having with them the lame, the blind, the mute, the maimed and may others, and they laid them down at Jesus feet and he healed them.  So the multitude marvelled when they saw the mute speak, the maimed made whole, the lame walking, the blind seeing, and they glorified the God of Israel.  Now did everyone who lived in the Galilee towns, did everyone come to Jesus?  No, there were interested people, there were some who came to listen to him talk, there were some who came because they wanted a free lunch, the miracle of the food.  But the people, who really came to Jesus, were people who knew they couldn't live without him.  The lame, the maimed, and the blind: unless Jesus touches them, nothings going to change.  They were so aware of their need they wanted to get around with Jesus.

Those are the people, people who know their need admit their need, those are the ones who are saved.  People who never admit, "Oh I'm good enough," those are -- the hell is filled with those people.  They never admit their need, they never come for forgiveness.  And Jesus called his disciples through himself and said, "I have compassion on the multitude because they have now continued with me three days, and I have nothing to eat, and I do not want to send them away hungry unless they faint on the way, how merciful is that?  This mercy ministry of healing lasted apparently three days.  They're out somewhere in the fields in the wilderness and Jesus wants to give them a meal before they go home.

His disciple said to him, "Where could we get enough bread in the wilderness to fill such a great multitude?"  Jesus said, "How many loaves do you have?"  They said seven and a few little fish."  Okay, now stop right here for just a moment.  We're dealing with a miracle that sounds and looks a lot like a miracle we've already covered, right?  That was the feeding of the five thousand; this is the feeding of the four thousand.  And critics like to say, "Well, you know it's really the same story and it's just -- they got the numbers wrong."  There are differences in these stories that are night and day, two different accounts all together.

There was the feeding of the five thousand that Matthew records and then now is the feeding of the four thousand that he records, what are the differences?  Difference number one, when Jesus fed the five thousand which we already covered, they were with Jesus one day only.  Here they're with Jesus three days.  Difference number two.  In the feeding of the five thousand the first one, Jesus commanded the crowd to sit down on the grass and Mark even says "The Green Grass" which was probably late winter or early spring. 

Now it's just the ground, they're not commanded to sit on the grass probably because the grass doesn't exist.  It's probably summer time and it's burned up.  Number three.  Third difference, in the feeding of the five thousand, there were five loaves and two fish.  Here, there are seven loaves and a few small fish.  Different numbers all together. 

Fourth difference, in the feeding of the five thousand, there's how many bass that's left over?  12.  In this miracle, the feeding of the four thousand, there are seven that says large baskets.  And five, here's the fifth difference.  In the feeding of the thousand that was around Galilee, a Jewish population, this is part of the Decapolis, the Decapolis means ten cities.  It's a conglomerate or a network of ten Gentile Cities so it's a different population base all together.

So at Verse 34, Jesus said to them, "How many loaves do you have?"  And they said, "Seven and a few little fish".  So he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.  And he took these seven loaves and the fish, gave thanks, broke them, gave them to his disciples, and the disciples gave to the multitude so they all ate and were filled and they took up seven large baskets full of the fragments that were left.

I'm a little bit amazed with the disciples, you would think that when Jesus said, "How many loaves do you have?" because right before that they go, "How are we going to do this?  How are we going to feed this big multitude?"  It's like you would think, one of them go "Oh, wait.  I remember, something really cool happened recently.  You fed five thousand men plus women and children."  But how quickly we forget?  I don't think that miracle happened like a few days before that, it was probably some time that transpired and as time goes on we tend to forget these things.

The right answer would be "Well, I don't know how you are going to do this because there's no bakery around here Jesus, but that's not a problem.'  You've done it before and you're going to do it again.  I don't know how you're going to do it but you'll figure something out.  And it's just going to be fun to watch so go for it, do something cool.  One of our problems is if we can't figure it out, we think it's not going to be done.  It cannot be done.  Our problem is we know too much, you're an engineer and so you go, "I don't know I can figure it out.  We have to do some"-- oh, this is impossible.

That was Sarah's problem.  When the Lord said "Abraham, I'm coming back within the year and Sarah, your wife is going to have a son."  And she's behind the curtain and she goes --.  That's the funniest thing I've heard in a long time because she's an old lady, that can't happen.  I'm a woman I know about these things.  You're a man; obviously you don't even though you're a God.  So she starts laughing.  Our knowledge can get in the way of things.  I marvel when I see a 7-47 take off the ground.  "Look at that, you know what that thing weighs?" you know how much luggage overpacked luggages in that thing?

And yet, why does it fly?  Any engineer knows.  Well it's simple, even though there's a law of gravity and that thing weighs so much and gravity demands it to stay earth-bound, there are other laws that supersede the law of gravity like trust, aerodynamics, lift.  And those laws when employed supersede even the law of gravity making that huge thing fly.  Okay?  That's how you explain a miracle.  God has another set of laws that he applies to this situation, it's not impossible.  It's like, easy.  Watch this -- done.

And so they were fed, they were filled.  Real quickly as we bring this to a close, and I'm not reading the last two verses though I will but as soon as I read them, you're going to close your bible so here's the deal.  How did Jesus do the miracle?  By using what was there and by using the people that were there.  Now did he have to do it that way?  Could Jesus have just said, "Watch this."

And all of a sudden manna would fall from heaven, that could be possible, or -- and then in and out a burger in everybody's lap.

Blake's Green Chile, whatever.  But he uses people to do his work.  He does the miracle but he uses the people to perform the miracle.  Now that is exactly how evangelism takes place.  God has the message that is a life changing message but he entrusts you with it.  He says "Pass the bread out, pass the fish out.  Get her done, I'll give you what you need, I'll supply it but you go pass it out".

Now God could use angels to get the job done.  He didn't -- he doesn't need you.  He doesn't need me.  He could get it done with the angels.  In fact, in the tribulation period, God will dispatch an angel to fly through heaven with the ever lasting gospel that everyone on earth will hear it.  He's going to get it done that way.  But he has chosen to use the foolish things, us.  That's beautiful, what a partnership.

Okay, now those who ate were four thousand men besides women and children and they send away the multitude, got in to the boat, and came to the region of Magdala, this is just a couple of miles north of Tiberius.  It's on the western shore of Galilee.  Remind me if you're going to Israel in May, when we take the boat ride from Tiberius and we go over toward the museum, I'll point out Magdala on the left hand side of the boat, you'll see it.  That's where they went, that little port back then.

We're out of time.  I have some other things to share but we'll have to wait.  Father thank you for your word, for the life, and the ministry of Jesus, and how he loved and had compassion on people, and how patient he was with his men who were learning, what he said and meant and if it was all about eating food, or is about a spiritual reality that went deeper than that.  Thank you for your patience with us, thank you for entrusting the glorious treasure of the Gospel, and to think that you would use our words, our actions, our lives to eternally change people we come in contact with, and you would feed multitudes but it marvels us, and we're grateful that you've done it in our lives and you do it through our lives through others. 

In Jesus name, Amen.

Additional Messages in this Series

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9/7/2011
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Matthew 1:1-18
Matthew 1:1-18
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As we turn our attention to the New Testament, Pastor Skip explains what transpired during the 400 years of silence since the Old Testament. Our firm grasp of the political setting, language, and Matthew's purpose and perspective establishes a solid foundation for understanding his gospel. In Matthew 1, we see Jesus revealed as the royal Heir to the throne of David—the Messiah, Immanuel: God with us.
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9/14/2011
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Matthew 1:18-2:23
Matthew 1:18-2:23
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Every year people around the world recognize the birth of a poor Jewish child born in an insignificant city. The birth of Jesus Christ, as recorded in the Scriptures, beckons us to worship and obey the King of the Jews. Let's examine Matthew's account of the miraculous circumstances of the nativity and the prophecies it fulfilled.
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9/21/2011
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Matthew 3
Matthew 3
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Jesus called John the Baptist the greatest man among those born of women. John saw himself in the light of who Jesus is: not even worthy to loose His sandal. From the womb, he was filled with the Spirit, continually pointing people to Christ. Let's consider this powerful prophet, his ministry, and the message he preached.
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9/28/2011
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Matthew 4:1-17
Matthew 4:1-17
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Prior to the start of Jesus' public earthly ministry, He was led up to be tempted by the devil. As we review His encounter with Satan, we uncover important principles of spiritual warfare. We consider not only when and how Jesus was tempted, but also how He fought—and the ministry that began on the heels of the battle.
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10/5/2011
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Matthew 4:18-5:4
Matthew 4:18-5:4
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Leaving life as they knew it, the disciples followed Jesus and became intimate witnesses of Jesus' teaching, preaching, and healing. As we dive into this portion of Matthew, we turn our attention to their calling and listen in as Jesus begins the greatest sermon ever preached.
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10/19/2011
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Matthew 5:5-16
Matthew 5:5-16
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The economy in God's Kingdom is quite different from that of the world: it's paradoxical; it's progressive. Let's consider the Beatitudes and discover what kingdom living looks like, and how it impacts those around us.
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10/26/2011
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Matthew 5:17-32
Matthew 5:17-32
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The multitudes listening to Jesus teach were undoubtedly shaken by His powerful statement: "Unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:20). How, then, could one be saved? As we continue our study of the Sermon on the Mount, we remember that salvation is not available through human achievement--only by divine accomplishment.
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11/2/2011
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Matthew 5:33-6:8
Matthew 5:33-6:8
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As we continue our study of the Sermon on the Mount, we'll grow in our understanding of the contrasts between the world and the kingdom of heaven. Followers of Jesus are called to a righteousness that exceeds that of the scribes and the Pharisees—a righteousness based on our genuine relationship with Christ, rather than mere outward obedience.
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11/9/2011
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Matthew 6:9-34
Matthew 6:9-34
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Jesus taught His disciples to pray in this manner: "Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10). As we continue our study of the Sermon on the Mount, we learn that when we make God's kingdom our focus, He provides everything we need.
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11/16/2011
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Matthew 7
Matthew 7
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Jesus calls His followers to live differently from the world -- to live a kingdom lifestyle. In this study from the Sermon on the Mount, we consider what kingdom living looks like in both our relationships with others and our relationship with God.
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12/7/2011
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Matthew 8:1-26
Matthew 8:1-26
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Throughout his gospel account, Matthew presents Jesus as the Messiah. Building upon the foundation of fulfilled prophecy, Jesus' identity is authenticated by miraculous signs. As we examine Matthew chapter eight, let's consider the compassion and grace Jesus demonstrates.
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1/18/2012
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Matthew 8:23-9:9
Matthew 8:23-9:9
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Matthew carefully crafted his gospel to speak directly to the hearts of his Jewish audience. Through his detailed record of Jesus' genealogy, fulfilled prophecy, Jesus' actions, instructions, and miracles, Matthew proves that Jesus is Messiah. Let's take a close look at several of those miracles, and gain a firm grasp of His Deity.
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1/25/2012
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Matthew 9:10-31
Matthew 9:10-31
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To the Pharisees, tax collectors and sinners were part of a lower, unpleasant class. But Jesus longed for fellowship with all people. He shared intimate meals with them, ministered to their needs, and reached out to the unlovely. As we study this passage in Matthew 9, we learn how we are also called to be heralds of the good news that brings spiritual health and enduring joy.
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2/1/2012
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Matthew 9:32-10:31
Matthew 9:32-10:31
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The Lord calls His followers to proclaim His message to the world—we are appointed to carry out a divine purpose. We learn in this study that we, like the apostles, find abundant life only in letting go of our own ambitions, plans, and comfort.
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2/8/2012
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Matthew 10:32-11:19
Matthew 10:32-11:19
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In His second major discourse of Matthew, Jesus equips and instructs His apostles about going into the world and reaping the spiritual harvest. In this passage, Jesus expounds on the courage needed to complete the mission and warns His followers of certain persecution. He reminds us that while not all who hear will believe, God's wisdom is powerfully demonstrated in changed lives.
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2/15/2012
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Matthew 11:16-30
Matthew 11:16-30
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In order to truly worship God, you must know Him. Speaking clearly and openly in this passage, Jesus proclaims some of His strongest warnings and makes some of His most intimate promises. He reveals the Father to His followers and assures us that life lived under His rule yields peace and rest.
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2/22/2012
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Matthew 12:1-21
Matthew 12:1-21
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Though God intended the Sabbath to be a day of rest, keeping the Sabbath became difficult work by New Testament times. The oral traditions of the Pharisees had become weighty burdens-burdens the Lord did not mean for His people to bear. In this passage, Jesus demonstrates mercy and the true intent of the Sabbath as He and His disciples meet physical needs in the face of strong opposition.
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2/29/2012
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Matthew 12:22-42
Matthew 12:22-42
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Though our current culture embraces a form of spirituality, the biblical view of God, Satan, and good versus evil has been dismissed by most. Ignorance and indifference cause them to relegate Satan to the stuff of fairy tales and myth. In this study from Matthew 12, Jesus demonstrates His authority over the devil and his minions--giving us a glimpse into the supernatural and a reminder that, "He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world" (1 John 4:4).
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3/7/2012
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Matthew 12:43-13:17
Matthew 12:43-13:17
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Jesus consistently brought His message of hope to the common man: He spoke in parables to bring revelation to His followers and to conceal heavenly truth from the hard-hearted. In this message, we examine parables of our Master Teacher and Holy Judge, and discover that truth can be a blessing, but also a curse--we must be diligent to understand and apply God's Word to our lives.
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3/14/2012
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Matthew 13:18-52
Matthew 13:18-52
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Jesus often used parables to explain spiritual truth to His followers. In Matthew 13, His seven kingdom parables are recorded--word pictures which explain the beginning, opposition, expansion, and culmination of His kingdom. Let's consider His teachings and apply these lessons, so that we may be fellow workers with Him in spreading the good news.
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3/21/2012
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Matthew 13:53-14:36
Matthew 13:53-14:36
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In this passage from the gospel of Matthew, we see powerful examples of the results of both faith and the lack of it. Those who might have known Jesus best failed to trust in Him and missed out on His work in their lives, while others were carried through the storm in His care. As we consider our own trials, we should rest in His hands, knowing He has power to change us and use our lives for His glory.
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4/11/2012
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Matthew 16:1-20
Matthew 16:1-20
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Through stern rebuke, gentle prodding, and powerful teaching, Jesus instructs those around Him about who He is and how we can know and serve Him. Matthew 16 records several lessons in faith - warnings and wisdom which encourage us in our own spiritual journey.
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4/25/2012
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Matthew 16:21-17:27
Matthew 16:21-17:27
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Jesus calls His followers to deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Him. From this passage, we gain a clearer understanding of what it means to exalt Him as King in our lives and also get a preview of His future glory, when He will reign over all the earth.
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5/2/2012
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Matthew 18
Matthew 18
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How should sin be dealt with? As we examine Matthew 18, we learn not only to deal radically with sin in our own lives, but also the steps toward reconciliation with a sinning brother.
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6/13/2012
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Matthew 19
Matthew 19
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In the U.S., the lifestyle of Christians often mirrors that of unbelievers--divorce, self-indulgence, misaligned priorities. Using God's Word to teach lessons about divorce and eternal life, Jesus exhorts his followers to enter the kingdom of heaven--to live in wholehearted faith and obedience to the Him. Let's consider what Scripture says about godly living and the reward Jesus promises to His faithful followers.
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6/20/2012
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Matthew 20
Matthew 20
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As followers of Christ, what awaits us in eternity? In this study, we consider not only our eternal home but also our eternal reward. Saved by grace through faith, we must see beyond the circumstances and status of this world, and look toward our future glory.
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7/11/2012
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Matthew 21:1-32
Matthew 21:1-32
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In this intriguing passage, Jesus enters Jerusalem in a precise fulfillment of prophecy. It's an exciting study, where those who know they need forgiveness find refreshment and hope—and those who rely on their own righteousness receive a stern rebuke.
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7/18/2012
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Matthew 21:33-22:22
Matthew 21:33-22:22
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Jesus taught with complete authority, denouncing the misconceptions of the religious leaders of the day. With skill and precision, Jesus uses parables and their own words to silence their challenges and expose their motives. Let's consider His words, heed His warnings, and remember that He alone is righteous and worthy of praise.
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7/25/2012
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Matthew 22:23-23:39
Matthew 22:23-23:39
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In dealing with the Pharisees and Sadducees, Jesus speaks wisely, uncompromisingly, and with the authority of heaven—His Words shoot straight to the heart. Though many try to fit Jesus into their pre-conceived mold—to accept Him and His Words only as far as they are comfortable—we learn here danger of that the perilous position.
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8/1/2012
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Matthew 24:1-30
Matthew 24:1-30
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In this passage—the Olivet Discourse— Jesus provides a summary of end time events: the future of the world. We look forward to the Rapture and the Second Coming of Jesus, but those found outside of Christ face unparalleled suffering and judgment. Let's contemplate the wrath of God that's in store for this world—and share the hope of the gospel with those who don't yet know Him.
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8/8/2012
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Matthew 24:31-25:46
Matthew 24:31-25:46
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In this section of the Olivet Discourse, we consider Jesus' Warning Parables. As we examine the text, let's remember that while the church escapes judgment, many are left to suffer the Great Tribulation. We must be righteous, be ready, and be responsible.
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8/15/2012
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Matthew 26:1-30
Matthew 26:1-30
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As Jesus gathered with His disciples to observe the Passover one last time, He brought fresh meaning to a festival which had been celebrated for thousands of years. Rather than a memorial to their physical deliverance from bondage in Egypt, the meal represents His broken body and shed blood—and spiritual deliverance from sin for those who believe.
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8/22/2012
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Matthew 26:31-75
Matthew 26:31-75
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Following the Last Supper, Jesus entered the Garden of Gethsemane and willingly surrendered Himself to the will of the Father: Jesus was crushed for our sin, abandoned to the Cross, so that we might have fellowship with Him. As we study Matthew 26, we consider the spiritual battle before us, the choices we make, and the ultimate victory that is ours through Jesus Christ.
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8/29/2012
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Matthew 27:1-50
Matthew 27:1-50
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In this message, we see the ultimate demonstration of God's love—the cross. Jesus, the King of the Jews, was betrayed, falsely accused, illegally tried, scourged, and ultimately crucified. As we consider the details of His crucifixion and death, how could we be anything except amazed and humbled?
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9/19/2012
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Matthew 27:50-66
Matthew 27:50-66
Skip Heitzig
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Message Summary
As He hung on the cross, betrayed by his friends and separated from His Father, Jesus declared "It is finished!" Victorious, not defeated—He completed the work the Father gave Him to do. In that dark hour, the grave gave up some of her dead, the earth quaked, and in the temple, the curtain that separated men from God was torn from top to bottom. As we study this text, let's consider the price Jesus paid to redeem us and the personal, intimate fellowship with God now available.
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9/26/2012
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Matthew 28
Matthew 28
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Jesus' resurrection: great news for His disciples—troubling news to his enemies. As the chief priests grappled with a cover up, the disciples met with the risen Lord and were commissioned to "Go and make disciples of all the nations." As we consider our text, we discover the good news for ourselves: Jesus is not dead—He's alive and has all authority in heaven and earth.
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There are 36 additional messages in this series.
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