Day 12: Matthew 9:1-17

“But when he heard it, he said, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy, and not sacrifice. For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.’” - Matthew 9:12-13 ESV

Jesus is getting hounded for his close association with notorious and hated sinners of His day. In response to that criticism, He says the words above, including a quote from the Greek translation of Hosea 6:6 (Septuagint). Yet listen to how the verse sounds from the Hebrew translation: “For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.”

The Jewish religious leaders had their methods down to a science. They knew when to offer the sacrifices, and they knew the ins and outs of all 613 commands found in the Torah (Genesis-Deuteronomy). Externally, they seemed flawless, but Jesus saw through all of that. If we are perceived as flawless, we are probably concealing too much.

The Apostle Paul (quoting Psalm 14) wrote in Romans 3:10 that "there is no one who is righteous, not even one."

Jesus can only help those who realize how much they need His grace.

Are we relying on flawless religious activity to save us, or are we leaning on the everlasting arms to drive us into a steadfast love for our Savior? May we lean into the grace of Jesus today.

"A fundamental difference between Jesus and his opponents relates to how one interprets Scripture. Ultimately, for Jesus, the law must be understood in terms of its disclosure of the character of God." - Chouinard, L. (1997). Matthew (Mt 9:12–13)

Day 11: Matthew 8:18-34

“And he said to them, ‘Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?’ Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.” - Matthew 8:26 ESV

After a long day of ministering to crowds of those who needed healing and authoritative teaching, Jesus was seemingly exhausted. Even though Jesus was God, he also had a body like ours that required sleep. This, though, seems to be the only reference to our Savior catching some shut-eye.

The storm that arose on the water was troubling to the disciples. It was probably the "swamping" of the boat by the waves that did the trick. They cried out, "Save us, Lord; we are perishing!"

"We can imagine Jesus lingering in the midst of this violent scene, holding the disciples’ eyes for a moment to let his rebuke settle in, and then getting up from where he had been sleeping to calm the sea." - Weber, S. K. (2000). Matthew (Vol. 1, p. 120)

Their fear was apparently something that they could have done something about, and its remedy was their faith (trust) in Jesus.

The phrase "of little faith" is one word in Greek: oligopistos. It is used five times in the New Testament, and always by Jesus speaking to his disciples.

We would do well to pray something like this today: "Father, grow my faith. In your great power, eradicate fear from my life as my trust in You increases. In Jesus' name, I pray, Amen."

Day 10: Matthew 8:1-17

“And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, ‘I will; be clean.’ And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.” - Matthew‬ ‭8: 3‬ ‭ESV‬‬

So, how does Jesus really feel about us? Are we those that He tolerates, because His status as God demands it? Or does Jesus feel obligated to care for us? What is Jesus’ motivation?

When I read about this leper, I often find myself relating. Many times, I am not “boldly approaching the throne of grace.” (See Hebrews 4: 16) I mostly approach Him hesitantly, hoping that He will find it in His heart to forgive me.

Yet He is willing.

This means the door for grace is always open for me to walk through.

Leprosy was viewed as incurable (see 2 Kings 5: 7). Lepers in Israel also had to abide by the strict quarantine rules of Leviticus 13-14. Something we all related to during the pandemic.

Know that Jesus doesn’t want you to keep your distance from Him. He longs for you to draw near; because one touch from our Savior sets everything right.

May we draw near today.

"To touch an unclean person was to contract defilement oneself (Lev. 5:3); Jesus’ disregard for this ceremonial point should be seen in the light of his attitude to the law in 5:17–48 and such passages as 12:1–14 (on Sabbath observance) and 15:1–20 (on ceremonial defilement). The mission of Jesus and the demands of love clearly took precedence." - France, R. T. (1985). Matthew: An Introduction and Commentary (Vol. 1, p. 156)

Day 9: Matthew 7:15-29

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock." - Matthew 7:24 ESV

There is nothing more fortifying than choosing to obey the teachings of Jesus. They are not just quaint sayings to apply when we feel like it. Instead, they are a commitment to the best lifestyle imaginable. It is one that makes life worth living now and prepares us for eternity.

The picture Jesus gives here of "building your house upon the sand" was an ancient shortcut in construction during the first century. Building upon the rock meant digging down deep, beyond the sand, to the bedrock underneath. Sure, building upon the sand is time-efficient and incredibly easier, but it is disastrous in the long term.

Remember what Jesus said in our reading yesterday?

"The gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few." - Matthew 7:13

Jesus wants what's best for us. He always wants to help us make decisions today that will benefit us forever.

The next time we see Jesus use this word "rock" (petra in Greek) in Matthew's gospel is in 16:18 when Jesus quizzes the disciples on His identity. The way we can build our homes on the rock is to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.

There is no storm in this life or in the final judgment that can send us crashing if our trust/obedience is in Jesus.

Day 8: Matthew 6:25-34, 7: 1-14

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?" - Matthew 6: 25 ESV

"Because of this fact last mentioned, the impossibility of dividing your service. Cease to be anxious about things of this life, for anxiety about these is a mark of your attempting this impossibility." - Spence-Jones, H. D. M. (1909). St. Matthew (Vol. 1, p. 237)

Recently, I had someone say to me (when seeing someone from afar), "I wonder how much they make." I responded as I usually do when I hear that competitive and comparative tone, "When we’re in our 80s, it won't matter at all." We spend so much time worrying about finances and advancement that we let the Devil distract us from what really matters.

Being wealthy will not matter as we go to draw our final breath. Yet, we insist on trying to position ourselves to become prosperous. We think attaining more will decrease anxiety, but it actually increases it.

A Princeton University study showed that, even in expensive cities, when someone exceeds $75,000 in annual income, it will not contribute to that person feeling better about his or her life. This is a direct quote from that study: “you can’t get emotional well-being much higher just by having more money.” (The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer, page 197)

It's as though Jesus knew what He was talking about.

So, if life is more than what we can accumulate, what is it about?

Jesus lays that out in 6: 33. We are to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. We would do well to take a trip back to the beginning of Matthew 5 and soak in Jesus' definition of success.

May we position ourselves to be eternally in God's presence, not to be temporarily at ease.

Day 7: Matthew 6: 1-24

"But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing." Matthew 6: 3 ESV

Jesus goes right after the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. They were the supposed experts, and they weren't shy about flaunting their expertise. Their giving, their prayer lives, and their fasting became nothing more than a show. Everything was right on the outside, but everything was wrong on the inside.

Beware of the experts, the show-offs. Those that thrive on notoriety.

One thing that really strikes me in today's reading is that Jesus doesn't just give us examples of giving, praying, and fasting; He makes assumptions that we will be actively involved in doing them. He says, "When you" not "If you."

It seems that in an effort not to overburden those that follow Jesus, we soften the expectations. We say things like, "If you have time" or "It only takes five minutes." Is this the kind of faith that Jesus has called us into?

Those that follow Jesus will be generous. They will pray with ferocity. They will deny themselves through fasting. We won't do it so that others can see us; we will follow through because we know that God sees us.

"We serve a God who looks upon the heart, not mere outward appearance (cf. 1 Sam 16:7), therefore religious devotion begins with the heart and the inner motivations behind the external act." - Chouinard, L. (1997). Matthew (Mt 6: 3–4)

When it comes to how Jesus sees us, He’s much more interested in our hearts than our heroics.

Day 6: Matthew 5: 27-48

“You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” - Matthew 5: 48 ESV

Many of us may read our passage for today, put down our Bibles, and let out a big sigh. This is because we know when we've looked too long in lust. We have seen marriages (maybe even in our own families) fail. We all have given not-so-straight answers when we feel defensive. We've all held onto grudges for far too long. We may have even wished harm to our enemies, definitely not going out of our way to bless them.

We have all fallen short of God's standards which are apparently higher than we thought they were (see Romans 3:23).

So, is it time to find a hole to crawl into? Or is it maybe time to give up on following Jesus? I mean, there is no way we will be able to be perfect as God is perfect.

King David was someone who was far from perfect, but he knew the one who was able to make things perfect when he wrote/sang: "God arms me with strength, and he makes my way perfect." (Psalm 18:32)

The same Jesus who calls us to a high standard is the One who went to the cross to ensure we could reach wholeness by trusting in His blood for our atonement.

"But now in Christ Jesus you who were formerly far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ." - Ephesians 2: 13 NASB

Day 5: Matthew 5:1-23

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied." - Matthew 5:6 ESV

In our Scripture for today, we see Jesus begin what is now called the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). In all nine of these opening "blessed" statements, Jesus is saying, "Let me tell you who is successful in my eyes" or "these are the fortunate ones."

These statements aren't prescriptive (do this, and you will be successful). Instead, they are a picture of Jesus meeting these people where they were, in their desperation and humility, and telling them that His kingdom has a place for them to thrive.

Can you identify with that?

Do you long, in humility, to see God move in your generation? Do you feel overlooked? Are you quickly dismissed, excluded, or mistreated because of your faith in Jesus? Jesus' Kingdom isn't about worldly status or fame. It is one in which we all are declared valuable and considered equal in view of the cross.

This closing comment on our passage today by S.K. Weber illustrates it well: “Our modern idea of happiness is a diluted version of the joy implied by the term Jesus used. Our idea of happiness is a dependence on circumstances. Instead, God’s happiness or joy is dependent on the assurance of God’s blessing (sometimes present, often future), not on current circumstances, and it abides deep and undisturbable within the believer.”

Day 4: Matthew 4: 12-25

"And he said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.’” - Matthew 4: 19 ESV

So much happens chronologically between verses 11 and 12 that Matthew doesn't record, but we'll get to that as we read through Mark, Luke, and John (another reason it is great to have four biographies of Jesus’ life).

This wasn't Peter’s and Andrew's first interaction with Jesus (see John 1: 41-42). Stuart Weber is right on the money when he wrote, "Jesus had known his disciples for some time and had even seen them in ministry situations. Thus, their decision to follow him was not hastily made."

It was important for Jesus to come to them at their workplace to lay out their call. From these four would become His top three. It seems as though Andrew wasn't quite brash enough. Jesus seemed to do the best work with those who were extra rough around the edges.

I find it helpful to break down Jesus' call to these four potential disciples:

1) FOLLOW ME. This is the invitation for us all to let Jesus start calling the shots in our lives. For these four, it meant a complete rearranging of their lives. It means the same for us today.

2) I WILL MAKE YOU. Do you feel inadequate to follow the resurrected and glorified Savior? You should. At the same time, you need to know that God can make you what you currently aren't.

3) FISHERS OF MEN. How many have you caught so far? Jude preferred the phrase "snatching them from the fire" (Jude 1: 23). God will bring (or has already brought) people into your life whom He wants YOU to reach. Are you ready?

If you haven't noticed, this is a high calling and requires us to enter into holy living. Nothing worse than a hypocritical fisher of men (and women).

What will your answer be to Jesus?

Day 3: Matthew 3: 7-17, 4: 1-11

"Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry." - Matthew 4: 1-2 ESV

The reality of temptation is something with which we all grapple daily. What makes it especially difficult is that the Devil custom fits it to our existing weaknesses.

At the age of 30, Jesus bursts onto the scene to be baptized by John, sees the Holy Spirit, and hears the confirming voice of His Father. We see that account, and we are encouraged, uplifted even. Then in the very next verse, we see that this same Holy Spirit will lead him into the wilderness to be tempted by our enemy, our accuser. To top that off, Jesus goes without food for forty days to set up the time of testing.

Jesus could not have been weaker physically.

Have you ever felt so weak that it seemed like you stood no chance at resisting temptation?

The difference between Jesus and us, at this moment, was that he was ready. He had three passages from Deuteronomy that were locked and loaded (8: 3, 6: 16, 6: 13). This was important because the Devil also had one ready to twist (Psalm 91: 11-12).

What scriptures are you currently working on memorizing? Maybe take one a week? Think about having 52 at the end of this year to use as you head into times of testing. May we let God help us!

"Jesus had to be tested and overcome the tester before he could do anything else. Disciples are destined for testing, but Jesus their forerunner has gone before them and shown them how to overcome." - Keener, C. S. (2009). The Gospel of Matthew: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary (p. 139)