Jesus was looking for their declaration of faith in him, the very means of their healing; eg v.22 “your faith has made you well.”
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For unto us a child is born, to us a Son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And he will be called wonderful, counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace… The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.
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Jesus was doing something new with his teaching, healing and atonement of sin. The Old Testament prophesied about this.
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But Jesus made the cost of discipleship clear, that such worldly expectations would hit a brick wall.
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The Centurion recognized that Jesus had power from God over illness and demons. Just as the centurion could command authority over men by a mere word, so too could Jesus exercise authority over illness and demons by a mere word, even over long distances. Jesus was astonished at the centurion's faith.
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But when winter came and its banks overflowed with water from the swollen River Jordan, it was a different matter. Wise builders in this locality would dig down to the underlying bedrock and build their foundations upon that.
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Jesus has warned his disciples about the dangers of temptation about choosing their rewards and treasure. Now he warns them about temptations in their dealings with others and avoid hypocrisy.
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Jesus warned importantly about how to give, pray and fast. The hypocrite Pharisees were choosing earthly rewards rather than heavenly rewards.
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The Lord's Prayer perhaps should be called the disciple's prayer since this was the form of prayer he wished his disciples to use.
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Heavenly Father, We thank you for your great love for us that you sent your precious son, our Lord Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our salvation. We thank you for his emphatic warning about the real dangers of letting our lives be taken over by the desire for human praise rather than living our lives for you and the reward of eternal life with you. In Jesus' Name Amen.
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Do we so long for the heavenly Jerusalem? There is a sense in which we are exiles, or pilgrims to better country. We travel through a landscape ravaged by sin—our own, and that of others.
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We all like the quick fix. It must be a general human trait, spreading into our spiritual lives. No wonder therefore that Patience is listed as the fruit of the Spirit - and is an attribute of God himself.
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As we live our lives s the children of God, with the Holy Spirit inspiring us, our transformed character should make our yes or no sufficient on its own. We have no authority to use God's name to attach to our own private affairs and declarations. To do so smacks of the misuse of God's name; something we should take pains to avoid.
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Jesus fulfilled the Law in every way. He perfectly obeyed the law of God, (but not every aspect of the man-made Scribal oral law, which caused controversy.) Jesus permanently met the Law's requirement for a perfect sacrifice for the sins of humankind. So all of the New and Old Testaments point to Jesus as the ultimate fulfillment of the Law's requirements. Because Jesus did this on our behalf, we are free from the Law's curse and penalty. We are enabled by the Holy Spirit to worship and serve God in our hearts and lives. Jesus perfectly interpreted the meaning of God's laws so that we can understand them, again with the help of the Holy Spirit.
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The teaching was quite different from that of the religious leaders that was based on self works and self righteousness that puffed up their pride. The teaching Jesus gave was such that it was impossible to meet God's standards. It drew attention that it would take a divine power to enable any where near achieving. They remind us that life is short with much suffering. Therefore we are to look to God to provide something better.
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However, when the call came they responded at once. Indeed their becoming disciples was quite unusual. Someone looking to become a disciple would normally approach a rabbi and make an offer of service. The rabbi might then take this disciple on for a period. If the disciple was found satisfactory, the relationship would continue. But Jesus call was quite different. “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” it was a command with a sure promise.
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Faith is leaning your whole weight on God. Resting your head on his shoulder.
Faith means resting - relying - not on who we are or what we can do, or how we feel, or what we know.
Faith is resting in who God is and what He has done.
And He has done EVERYTHING.
I know another perfect analogy. It is just like when you are on holiday and you see something amazing or beautiful or just really cool. I don’t know what it is about us humans, but for some reason, our next instinctual thing to do is turn around and find somebody who is with us to say “Look at that! How amazing is that!”
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God alone is the prize. Just Him. God, in all His beauty and majesty and might is our prize. So I encourage you to continue to seek God alone. Spend time in His presence, talk with Him, just BE with him. Relish in His company. Worship Him. He is the One who encompasses all you are searching for.
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Whilst Jesus was in a weakened state, it still seems incredible that Satan thought he could implant doubts in Jesus' mind about who he was and being loved by the Father. Jesus had just heard the Father declare publicly “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matt.3:17). Finally Satan offers the kingdoms of the world to Jesus. Whilst Satan has some control for a time over these kingdoms, they are not his to give away but the Father (Cf. Ps 121:1-2). Indeed, Satan is “the father of lies” (John 8:44). Moreover, Jesus is to receive the kingdoms from the Father anyway (Cf. Psalm 2). Jesus' reply and then command over Satan showed his end was in sight!
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