Author: Ben Bourland

“And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, Why does your Master eat with tax collectors and those [who are] sinful? But when Jesus heard it, He replied, Those who are strong and well have no need of a physician, but those who are weak and sick. Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice and sacrificial victims. For I came not to call and invite the righteous, but sinners.” Matthew 9:11-13 ->me: I have heard this passage several times in my life but today the Holy Spirit is working this into my heart; reinforcing my theology as a follower of Jesus. Jesus is quoting Hosea -> “For I desire and delight in dutiful steadfast love and goodness, not sacrifice, and the knowledge of and acquaintance with God more than burnt offerings.” Hosea 6:6 The danger Hosea is calling out here is the risk that religion, which is all external, can be a place where ritual demands have taken the place of love. Jesus then reverses the standards of formal religion and invites only the disqualified. In the sense of the Pharisees, they believed they were righteous but it is precisely the adequacy of righteousness that Jesus constantly calls into question. Sinners who ‘hunger and thirst for righteousness’ are closer to true righteousness than the self-satisfied.

“And he (the now healed paralytic) got up and went away to his own house. When the crowds saw it, they were struck with fear and awe; and they recognized God and praised and thanked Him, Who had given such power and authority to men.” Matthew 9:7-8 ->me: This is the awesome story of the healing of the paralytic. In Mark we learn that he was lowered down through the roof of the house but here, Matthew chooses to focus on the dialog between Jesus and the Scribes. Jesus had healed this man by saying “your sins are forgiven” and so the Scribes were calling foul, because to assume the authority of God for yourself to forgive sins is blasphemy. Verse 8, for me, has a couple of things that spoke to me this morning. 1) Crowds [many people] saw this. All through the New Testament, we are told that the masses saw the works (Miraculous) of Jesus. Notice that in all the books written that date back to this time, none refute the things that he did. 2) The works of Jesus point to His Father in heaven. “And they recognized God and praised and thanked Him” – They saw Jesus do these works but the praise and acknowledgement of God are what are paramount. 3) Jesus forgives the sin the of the paralytic before He actually pays for those sins with His life on the cross. The concept of forbearance is something that really helped me see that God’s redemptive plan for the world had existed from the beginning. If Jesus could forgive the sin of a man before His death on the cross to pay for those sins then I can fully trust that my sin is forgiven (sin that would not happen until long after His death and resurrection). I am so thankful for the teaching given to us in God’s word and the Holy Spirit He has given to help lead us through it.

“Jesus said, Come! So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water, and he came toward Jesus. But when he perceived and felt the strong wind, he was frightened, and as he began to sink, he cried out, Lord, save me! Instantly Jesus reached out His hand and caught and held him, saying to him, O you of little faith, why did you doubt? And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.” Matthew 14:29-32 ->me: Yesterday while I was in Sunday morning worship, my mind began to wonder; thinking about all that needed to get done before today [Monday] after being in North Carolina on business for the last week. Then I realized where I was and what my focus should be -> on God and Jesus alone for what He has done and Who He is in my life today. My mind came to this passage about Peter and desire to come out on the water to be with Jesus, by asking Jesus to command him to come out…so Jesus did just that. Peter climbs out of the boat with his eyes fixed on Jesus and begins to walk on the water towards Him…but then what happens? Peter gets distracted and fearful about the craziness around him. When he realizes that he is sinking, he freaks out and calls on Jesus to rescue him. As the passage says, Jesus INSTANTLY reaches out, catches, and holds Peter. There are a lot of takeaways from this passage but for me, this is my walk with Jesus. I searched for Him and He called me to Himself. I started out walking on the water of my ‘following’ Him but I routinely get distracted by my work, pressures, money, and many other things in this world…finding myself losing sight of the One Who stand on top of it all. When I refocus back on Him and call out to Him in confession and repentance, He immediately reminds me Who He is and holds me close. Everyday my goal to walk further before sinking by keeping every moment transfixed on Him.

“The herdsmen fled and went into the town and reported everything, including what had happened to the men under the power of demons. And behold, the whole town went out to meet Jesus; and as soon as they saw Him, they begged Him to depart from their locality.” Matthew 8:33&34 ->me: This recollection and writing by Matthew about the demoniacs, Jesus’ interchange with them, and the casting them into the pigs that ran down into the water and drowned is an amazing example of Jesus power over the supernatural. As soon as Jesus came up on these possessed men, the demons inside of them called out to Jesus by name, acknowledging Him as the Son of God. But a big part of the story is the town’s people who came out to see what the herdsmen had told them about this Jesus. Notice the wording – The herdsmen fled -> they were scared about what they saw and mostly notably because they had just lost a whole herd of pigs to this Man’s actions. They ‘reported everything…including what had happened to the men under the power of the demons…”. I read this to be that the big new was “Jesus killed our expensive herd of pigs…oh and He also remove the power of demons over these men…”. The towns people rejected Jesus because they preferred their pigs!! What is sad is that I find myself doing this… I can think of many occasions where God has done something amazing but I find the wrong thing to put value in…I miss the bigger news.

“And they went and awakened Him, saying, Lord, rescue and preserve us! We are perishing! And He said to them, Why are you timid and afraid, O you of little faith? Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great and wonderful calm (a perfect peaceableness).” Matthew 8:25&26 ->me: This awesome story is a wonderful/sorry view of my life with Jesus. The passage says that the waves were crashing over the boat…I don’t know about you but my guess is that the boat was actually breaking. You have these men on deck trying to do everything THEY COULD to navigate the treacherous waters all the while the Son of the Living God was asleep in the body of the ship. Ok, lets break away for a second. If I say that the boat is my body, the raging sea is this world, and the men on the boat are the thoughts and emotions in my mind, then this is perfect picture of my life with Him. He is IN me and even if He was asleep…the SON OF GOD is IN me! What do I have to fear?? Even more importantly, I am IN HIM! Even more important than that is that He is not asleep when I am dedicated in my obedience to Him. He is active and working within me…so I not only have nothing to be afraid of, I can lean into my Savior who is at work in my heart transforming me within to be MORE LIKE HIM! Shut the front door!!!

“And a scribe came up and said to Him, Master, I will accompany You wherever You go. And Jesus replied to him, Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have lodging places, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head. Another of the disciples said to Him, Lord, let me first go and bury [care for till death] my father, but Jesus said to him, Follow Me, and leave the dead [in sin] to bury their own dead.” Matthew 8:19-22 ->me: Today’s reading is all on the costs of ‘Following’ Jesus. These 2 people (one a scribe) are described as disciples of Jesus. Scribes, as a sect, were against Jesus, but individually they were open and sometimes receptive to His teaching. What this means is that you can be a disciple but not a ‘follower’ of Jesus. Jesus makes it very clear, that to follow Him means to put Him above everything else on this earth, even family. Which is why it is so important that prioritize my time with Jesus in prayer and in His word over other distractions in life (Family, work, fun, and even church for that matter). My take away today is that I need to ask myself these questions each morning I wake up – “Who am I living for today? [Answer: Jesus] Am I going to make decisions today that are indicative of Following my Savior? [Answer: Yep, with God’s strength, every single one.]” I have said this before, but it is amazing how God still makes time for everything to get done, when I give Him my time – even when it doesn’t seem like there is any time to give.

“And when Jesus went into Peter’s house, He saw his mother-in-law lying ill with a fever. He touched her hand and the fever left her; and she got up and began waiting on Him.   When evening came, they brought to Him many who were under the power of demons, and He drove out the spirits with a word and restored to health all who were sick. And thus He fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah, He Himself took [in order to carry away] our weaknesses and infirmities and bore away our diseases.” Matthew 8:14-17 ->me: When I read this passage this morning, I am reminded of Jesus’ compassion and love for everyone. Yesterday was the story of Jesus healing the Centurion’s servant. In that case, it was the faith of the Centurion that prompted Jesus to heal the boy. Here He helps Peter’s mother-in-law and then casts out demons and heals more sick. In the same story, as told by Mark, Jesus did not allow the demons to talk as He threw them out since they knew Who He was. Jesus is so casual and loving in these passages. To spend time with Him in person was to be around love, compassion, and help. What can I take away from this passage in my plight to be more like Him? How can I be more loving, compassionate, and helpful to those I come in contact with. His work showed Who He was, He didn’t need the demon’s to say Who He was. Jesus, by His actions alone, was performing His ministry. His greatest act of love is yet to come.

“I tell you, many will come from east and west, and will sit at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, While the sons and heirs of the kingdom will be driven out into the darkness outside, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.” Matthew 8:11-12 ->me: Today in my reading was the story of the Centurion who asked Jesus to heal his sick servant boy in his home. Jesus said He would come to the Centurion’s house but the Centurion said that he was not worthy to have Jesus come into his home and that if Jesus just gave the word, the Centurion knew (had faith) that Jesus could heal his servant boy with just saying so. This is one of only 2 times in the bible that it says Jesus ‘marveled’, in this case, at the Centurion’s faith (the other is Mark 6:6)…so much so that Jesus took the time to explain that Jews are not the only ones who have a seat at the feast in heaven with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Here is where we come to my verses above. Reading the whole bible, taking in God’s character through Isaiah, the Mosaic law in Leviticus, and then the role of Jesus in God’s entire plan, humbles me. To think that I have a place in the Kingdom of heaven and yet some ‘sons and heirs (Jews)’ may not, calls for a reverence and gratitude that is hard to describe. I pray that I would have faith like this Centurion; a faith that ‘marvels’ Jesus. A faith that ‘knows’, living with a daily belief that my King has selected me for His Kingdom. A faith that grows everyday that I am in His word to learn and apply His teaching.

“And behold, a leper came up to Him and, prostrating himself, worshiped Him, saying, Lord, if You are willing, You are able to cleanse me by curing me. And He reached out His hand and touched him, saying, I am willing; be cleansed by being cured. And instantly his leprosy was cured and cleansed.” Matthew 8:2-3 ->me: This is one of those passages where it is important to do a little deep diving into what is going on. Leprosy (and many other skin conditions for that matter) was cause for quarantine during biblical times. Not only were you thought to be super contagious but you were also ‘ceremonial unclean’ (Leviticus 13-14).   Other diseases are healed in the New Testament but a leper is ‘cleansed’. The disease was regarded as incurable (1 Kings 5:7). The posture and faith of the leper is what moved Jesus to heal him. In the next verse, Jesus instructs the cured leper to not tell anyone about what has happened and to go straight to the priests and offer the offering of cleansing commanded by Moses; in this way he would be a testament to the healing and as evidence to the people. This whole section of Matthew (miracles) has really one topic -> the power and authority of Jesus. I am most drawn to the ways in which people approach Jesus that move Him to heal them or their loved ones. Posture (acknowledgement of Christ’s position in their lives) and Faith (that Jesus can do the impossible). What is even more is that the leper was ‘cleansed’ as well as ‘cured’. The law was not needed, Jesus Himself is sufficient.

“So everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts upon them [obeying them] will be like a sensible (prudent, practical, wise) man who built his house upon the rock. And the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.” Matthew 7:24-25 ->me: As you know – Jesus goes on to continue the story talking about the foolish man who built his house upon the sand. When the rain, floods, and wind came and beat against that house, it completely collapsed and was demolished. Everyone will have rain, floods, and winds in their life. The mental state, that living on the Rock gives me, is one of the reaffirming aspects of my faith. How do I explain away the solid trust I have when I lean against the Lord, countered by the dread I feel when I am trying to solve all of my problems my own way? Right now I am reading ‘Trusting God’ by Jeff Bridges. This book lays the ground work for what it means to trust God through life; in the great times and the biggest trials. The author speaks of God’s Sovereignty, God’s Power, and God’s Rule; to which all of these we have a response – a committed reliance on the Truth of God’s word and that He takes care of His children, or a struggle of power to lift God’s hand and tell Him “I’m taking this…”. When we take things on ourselves we turn to idols through pride and unbelief and God releases us to feel the crushing weight of our circumstances. I have learned that depending on Him is a beautiful place to be regardless of my situation.