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The servant of the Lord

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Jesus left the area when he became aware that they were plotting against him.

MT 12:15a

He left, traveling with his disciples to the sea. Immense crowds followed him from Galilee, Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, beyond the Jordan, and around Tyre and Sidon. The huge crowds sought him out because they had heard the news about everything he was doing.

MK 3:7-8, LK 6:17, MT 12:15b.

They came to listen to his teachings and be healed. Everyone who was afflicted by an unclean spirit was healed.

LK 6:18

The crowds were thronging to get near him to touch him because he had already healed many other people before, and healing power was coming out of him that day.

MK 3:10, LK 6:19

There were so many people trying to get to him that Jesus told his disciples to prepare a small boat for him so that he would not be crushed by the crowds.

MK 3:9

The unclean spirits made the people they had possessed fall down and cry out “You are the Son of God!” when they saw him.

MK 3:11

He strongly warned them to not reveal who he was.

MT 12:16, MK 3:12

In doing this he fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, who said –
“Behold, this is my chosen servant, the one I love and my soul delights in. I will anoint him with my Spirit, and he will tell the world about justice. He will not fight or yell, and he will not speak in street corners. He will be kind to the weak and give hope to the hopeless, until he has successfully brought justice to the world. His name will bring hope to everyone.”

MT 12:17-21

The man with the paralyzed hand.

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Jesus was teaching in a synagogue on the Sabbath. He noticed a man there whose hand was paralyzed. The scribes and the Pharisees were watching Jesus closely to see if he violated the Law against working on the Sabbath. Jesus knew what was in their hearts, and speaking to the paralyzed man, he said “Come stand here in the middle” and the man did.

Then, speaking to the scribes and the Pharisees, he said “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or evil, to save life or destroy it? If any of you had a sheep that fell into a pit on the Sabbath, wouldn’t you pull it out? A man is certainly worth more than a sheep, so it fulfills the Law to do good on the Sabbath.”

He then looked around at all of them, angry and sad at how hard their hearts were. Then, speaking to the man, he said “Stretch out your hand.” The man did, and his hand was perfectly healed.

The scribes and the Pharisees were filled with rage and they began to plot with the Herodians about how they could destroy Jesus.

MT 12:9-14, MK 3:1-6, LK 6:6-11

Lord of the Sabbath

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Jesus and his disciples were walking through the grain fields one Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began picking the heads off the grain, rubbing them in their hands, and eating. When the Pharisees saw them doing this, they said “Why are you doing what is it illegal on the Sabbath?”

Jesus answered them, “Didn’t you read what David and his companions did when they were hungry – how he entered the house of God when Abiathar was high priest, and took and ate the sacred bread, which only the priests were allowed to eat, and also gave some to his companions to eat?”

MT 12:1-4, MK 2:23-26, LK 6:1-4

“Or didn’t you read in the Law that the Temple priests violate the Sabbath and are not guilty of breaking the Law? I tell you that something greater than the Temple is here! If you knew what the phrase ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice’ means then you would not have condemned innocent people.”

MT 12:5-7

“The Sabbath was created for man, not the other way around.”

MK 2:27

“Therefore, the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

MT 12:8, MK 2:28, LK 6:5

The sign of Jonah

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Then some of the Jewish leaders including the scribes and Pharisees said to him “Teacher, show us a sign.”

But he said “An evil generation demands a sign, but only the sign of the prophet Jonah will be given. In the same way that Jonah was in the belly of the whale for three days and three nights, the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth for the same amount of time. In the same way that Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, the Son of Man will be a sign to this generation. The men of Nineveh will stand up and condemn this generation at the Day of Judgment, because they repented when Jonah spoke to them, and something even greater than Jonah is here right now! The Queen of Sheba, the Queen of the south, will also rise up and condemn this generation at the Day of Judgment, because she traveled all the way from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and something even greater than Solomon is here right now!

MT 12:38-42, LK 11:29-32

An unclean spirit’s return

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“When an unclean spirit is cast out of a person, it wanders through waterless places looking for a place to rest. When it doesn’t find anywhere to rest, it says to itself ‘I will return to the house that I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house empty, swept clean, and put in order. Then it goes and gathers up seven other spirits who are more evil than it is, and they enter and make themselves at home in the man. The result is that the man is now worse off than he was before. This is how it will be for this evil generation.”

MT 12:43-45, LK 11:24-26

Knowledge of Father and son.

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Then Jesus became filled with joy from the Holy Spirit and said “I praise you Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because it pleased you to hide this knowledge from those who are wise and educated, and have revealed everything to children. My Father has entrusted me with everything. Only the Father knows the son, and the Father is only known by the son, and those who the Son has chosen.”

MT 11:25-27, LK 10:21-22

“Come to me, everyone who is worn down by life, and I will raise you up. Everyone, work alongside me and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and with me you will find rest. If we share the work together it will be easier, because I will give you only light burdens.”

MT 11:28-30

Speaking privately to his disciples he said, “Your eyes and ears are blessed because of what they see and hear! There are many prophets, kings, and righteous people who wanted to see and hear the things you see and hear now, yet didn’t.”

MT 13:16-17, LK 10:23-24

Look – the Messiah!

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Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God will come. He answered “You won’t be able to see when the kingdom of God comes because it is among you.”

Then he spoke to the disciples. “Soon you will miss days like this, where the Son of Man is among you. People will say ‘Look there!’ or ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ Don’t listen to them or go where they show you. False messiahs and false prophets will gain prominence and will mislead a lot of people by performing great signs and wonders. Even the elect are at risk of being led astray by them.”

“I’ve told you everything in advance so that you can be on your guard. This way if they say ‘Look he’s in the wilderness’ or ‘He’s in the inner rooms’, you’ll know not to believe what they say and you’ll stay where you are.”

“The Son of Man will come in the same way that lightning flashes from one side of the sky to the other, lighting it all up.”

MT 24:23-27, MK 13:21-23, LK 17:20-24

Servants and Bridesmaids (Be alert, part 2)

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“Be prepared to serve when you are called to work.

Consider the story of the ten bridesmaids who went out to meet the groom with their lamps. Only half of them were sensible and took oil with them. The groom took a while in coming and all the bridesmaids fell asleep. They were suddenly awoken by a shout from someone announcing that the groom was coming. All the bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps. The ones who hadn’t prepared asked the other ones for oil because their lamps for going out. The ones who had prepared said ‘No, because there won’t be enough for all of us if we give you any’. They told them to go buy more oil for themselves. While they were gone, the groom showed up, and only the bridesmaids who had prepared were able to go with him to the wedding feast. The door was locked after them. When the rest of the bridesmaids arrived, they asked to be let in. The groom refused to open the door to them, saying ‘I don’t know you!’”

Whether the story concerns bridesmaids waiting on a groom, or servants waiting on their master, the moral is the same – they didn’t know when he was going to arrive, and it was only those who were prepared and ready who were praised and included. “Therefore, always be ready, because you never know when the Son of Man is going to come, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at dawn. So be alert.”

MT 25:1-13, MK 13:32-37, LK 12:35-38

Be Alert! (part 1)

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“As regards to exactly when the Day of Judgment will happen, no one knows, not angels, not the Son. Only the Father knows. That time will be just like it was in the time of Noah and the flood. Right until the flood happened, people went on like they always had, eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, right up until the day Noah boarded the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all, sweeping away all their possessions. They didn’t know what was going to happen to them until it happened.”

MT 24:36-39a, LK 17: 26-27

“Just like it was in Lot’s time, people went on with their normal lives, doing all the usual things they always did. But right after Lot left Sodom, the whole town was destroyed by a rain of fire and sulfur from heaven. It will be just as sudden and surprising as that was to them when the Son of Man is revealed.”

LK 17:28-30

“When you see ‘the abomination that causes desolation’ standing in the holy place, which was spoken of by the prophet Daniel (let the reader take note of this) then everyone in Judea must flee to the mountains. When you see that Jerusalem is surrounded by armies, know that it is time for its destruction. When that happens, a man standing on his roof must not come down to get anything out of his house. Also a man out in the fields should not return home to get his clothing. Those inside Jerusalem must escape, and those in the country must not enter the city because the days of vengeance have come to fulfill all the prophecies.

MT 24:15-18, MK 13:14-16, LK 17:31, LK 21:20-22

“Remember what happened to Lot’s wife!”

LK 17:32

“It will be very hard for women who are pregnant or nursing when this happens. Pray that you won’t have to escape in winter or on the Sabbath. For this will be a time of great trouble and stress, unlike anything that has happened since the creation of this world until now, and will never happen again! No one would survive that time if God didn’t limit those days, but he did limit them for the sake of those he chose.” They will be cut down by swords and taken captive into all the nations, and the nations will trample Jerusalem until the end of that era.

MT 24:19-22, MK 13:17-20, LK 21:24

“The coming of the Son of Man will be like this – two men will be in the field. One will disappear, and the other will remain. Two women will be grinding grain at the mill. One will disappear, and one will remain. Two people will be together in a bed. One will disappear, and the other will remain. Therefore, be on guard, because you don’t know when your Lord is coming.”

MT 24:39b-42, LK 17:34-36

His disciples asked “Where, Lord?”
Jesus answered “The vultures will gather around the corpses.”

LK 17:37, MT 24:28, MT 24:28

“Know this – if the homeowner had known exactly when the thief was going to break into his house, he would have stayed at home and stayed awake so he could prevent his house from being robbed. You need to be ready in the same way, because the Son of Man will appear when you least expect it to happen.”

MT 24:43-44, LK 12:39-40

An unresponsive generation.

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“What shall I compare this generation to? It is like a bunch of children sitting around saying to each other ‘We played a happy tune but you didn’t dance to it. We sang a sad tune but you didn’t grieve!’ For John doesn’t make merry or celebrate by eating or drinking, and they say he’s possessed. On the other hand, the Son of Man enjoys drinking and feasting and they accuse him of being a glutton and a drunkard, and of hanging around with people who can’t be redeemed! Yet the fruit of wisdom justifies it.”

MT 11:16-19, LK 7:31-35

He then began to denounce the towns where he had performed the most miracles, because they didn’t turn away from their sinful behavior.

“It is terrible to be you, Chorazin! It is sad to be you, Bethsaida! For if Tyre and Sidon had seen the miracles that you saw, they would have repented long ago, wearing sackcloth and ashes! Mark my words – it will be easier on those cities on the Day of Judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you ever see the kingdom of heaven? No, you will go down among the dead. Even the wicked town of Sodom would have been saved if it had seen the miracles you saw. That town will get off lightly on the Day of Judgment in comparison to you.”

Then speaking only to his disciples, he said “Whoever hears your message hears my message. Whoever rejects what you have to say rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the One who sent me.”

MT 11:20-24, LK 10:13-16