Podcast Introduction

Our reading today is Matthew 11-13, and I’m calling the episode “Jesus Is No Pushover.” 

We’ll do our “On This Day In Church History” segment, and a boostagram/comment about a recent episode.

Thoughts on Matthew 11 

Some people have the idea that when Jesus was here, he was a milquetoast kind of guy. A pushover. Always soft in word and deed. Weak even. These are people who have never read the Bible.

At the end of this chapter, verses 28-30 Jesus said, ““Come to me, all of you who are tired and have heavy loads, and I will give you rest. 29Accept my teachings and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in spirit, and you will find rest for your lives. 30The burden that I ask you to accept is easy; the load I give you to carry is light.”

Let’s look at these verses, shall we? 

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve moved or helped friends move in my life. Dozens of times. I’ve moved from the L.A. area 350 miles to Mammoth Lakes in the Sierra and back. Twice. I’ve lived in homes all around the southern California area. I’ve moved from LA to Orange County, and then two or three times within Orange County. Then, from Orange County to LA county again. Then to Riverside county. And then four or five more times. Each time with more and more stuff.

In all those moves, do you think I looked for weak guys to help me? No. I always recruited my strongest friends. Nothing against smaller people, but if I want help to lift stuff, I want the burly kind.

Jesus is offering to bear our burdens. I don’t know about you, but some of my burdens are anything but light. I’m 67 years old, and some of the burdens I’ve experienced in my life would have crushed me if I hadn’t had Jesus to help me. He bore my heavy loads, and gave me a light one in return. 

No. Jesus is not a milquetoast. He is capable of carrying the heaviest of loads.

Jesus is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. He is the Beginning and the End. Remember His night in Gethsemane, asking the Father if there was any other way to save us? He knew what was coming, but the only way our sins could be atoned for was the way set out before Him. Anyone who could go through with the Father’s plan is not weak. Anyone who could survive the flogging he suffered on the day he was crucified is not weak. Anyone who could forgive those who nailed Him to the cross, or those who mocked him as He hung there is not weak. Anyone who could defeat death and arise the third day is not weak. 

The Jesus we read about today is a man’s man, the ultimate leader, and a Savior that I am happy to serve, follow and share with anyone who will listen. 

You?

Thoughts on Matthew 12 

In verse 38, some teachers of religious law and Pharisees came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, we want you to show us a miraculous sign to prove your authority.”

You know, on the face of it, this might not seem like a terribly unreasonable request. Jesus has made some pretty bold statements, right? I mean, what gives Him the authority to say the things He’s said? After all, He who makes bold claims has the burden of proof.

The thing is, Jesus has already done many miracles, right? He’s healed many people of a whole host of diseases, He’s showed that He can control the weather, he turned water to wine. And there is no doubt that reports of His miracles were widely circulated, and some of the teachers and Pharisees were eye witnesses.

So what’s going on here?

They were demanding that He do something then and there. Of course, they did not believe that Jesus was God, but can you imagine demanding the creator of all that is that He perform like some dancing monkey?

God is God. Jesus is the second person of the Trinity. He is as much God as God the Father or God the Holy Spirit. Together they are One God, yet each distinct. 

His response was, of course swift and piercing. They had seen all that they would need to if they were truly looking for God, but what they really wanted was to maintain the status quo. They didn’t like what Jesus had been teaching, and at this point all they wanted to do was eliminate Him. He was a threat to their authority and their way of life. 

My prayer is that my heart remains open to His leading. If there is something that I need to change, I pray that I would always be willing to make whatever adjustments He wants me to.

What about you?

Thoughts on Matthew 13 

In this chapter, and many other places, Jesus refers to the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Heaven. Did you ever stop to ask what He means by these phrases?

I did a bit of digging on the subject and found that this has been a topic of a lot of discussion and commentary over the ages. Much more than we can cover here. I did find a very concise answer over at GotQuestions.org. Let me share it with you: “The kingdom of God is the rule of an eternal sovereign God over all creatures and things (Psalm 103:19; Daniel 4:3). The kingdom of God is also the designation for the sphere of salvation entered into at the new birth (John 3:5-7), and is synonymous with the “kingdom of heaven.”

The kingdom of God embraces all created intelligence, both in heaven and earth that are willingly subject to the Lord and are in fellowship with Him. The kingdom of God is, therefore, universal in that it includes angels and men. It is eternal, as God is eternal, and it is spiritual—found within all born-again believers. We enter the kingdom of God when we are born again, and we are then part of that kingdom for eternity. It is a relationship “born of the spirit” (John 3:5), and we have confident assurance that it is so because the Spirit bears witness with our spirits (Romans 8:16).

God is sovereign, omnipotent, omniscient and the ruler over all of His creation. However, the designation “the kingdom of God” compasses that realm which is subject to God and will be for eternity. The rest of creation will be destroyed. Only that which is part of the “kingdom of God” will remain.”

So I hope next time you hear the phrase “the Kingdom of Heaven” or “The Kingdom of God”, you’ll have a better understanding.

Today’s Bible Translation

Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 11-12 NCV, Ch. 13 ESV

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