Daily Bread for Oct 7, Mt 7-8

Today’s readings are Mt 7-8.

As Jesus continues to lay the groundwork for His ministry in “The Sermon on the Mount,” He brings practical application to the principles stated in the Beatitudes (Mt 5:2-12).

Mt 7:1-5 tells us we will be evaluated by the same standards we evaluate others. This is a shot across the bow of our pride, cautioning us not to be too hard on others as each of us has our own issues to deal with. The message is clear, “Don’t judge others! Look inward and judge yourself.”

But, neither should we naively accept as truth everything we hear from others (Mt 7:6, 15-23). People—and all teaching should be judged by the fruit they produce. This judgment is not the type that condemns and criticizes, that is up to the Lord. But, we should evaluate a person or a teaching before readily embracing them as godly. All teaching should be measured against Scripture. Likewise, before accepting someone, mainly a teacher, as a godly person, there should be some evidence of godly transformation in their heart and in what they say. 

We can ask for discernment on these issues. The Holy Spirit will guide us in His wisdom (Mt 7:7-11). These verses are commonly taken out of context and used to claim that all we must do is ask God and He will give us whatever we ask for. That sort of teaching fails to recognize that this short passage is bracketed by a caution to be careful about who and what we receive as godly. So, the "ask and receive" directive applies to seeking guidance on what teaching to embrace and who to appropriate in our daily lives. 

Mt 7:12 summarizes this teaching by telling us to simply do to other people what we would like done to us. Notice this is not conditional on how they treat us but solely dependent upon our hearts as we relate to them in a godly manner. We should love them, but not necessarily adhere to their teaching or become their disciples. This is a difficult teaching (Mt 7:13-14) that reaps eternal rewards.

A more detailed warning about false teachers appears in Mt 7:15-20. All teaching is to be judged by the fruit it produces. Does it encourage a lackadaisical attitude about God? Does it promote legalism? Is it harsh and lacking compassion? Is it too tolerant of sin and ungodliness? All these things and those who teach them are to be avoided. The fruit that is godly will always exalt God and bring Him glory. It will be characterized by His love and His discipline. Many will profess to teach His word, yet, there will be those who claim to be His that are not (Mt 7:21-23). How will we know who they are? By objectively evaluating the fruit of their ministries. By knowing our Bibles well enough to know false teaching when we hear it. Finally, by asking for discernment. In short, believers should lead lives whose foundations are in Christ and God’s word (Mt 7:24-27).

After the sermon, Jesus begins working miracles as evidence that what He just preached was the real deal. Notice that the signs and wonders He performs are not to dazzle the crowds, but to authenticate His teaching and His office as the Christ. A careful reading of the Scriptures shows us that the miracles of Christ and His disciples always lead to a decision about who He is. Some accept Him, some reject Him. The signs and wonders are never done for the edification of those who are already following Him but always as a way of supporting Jesus’ teaching and affirming Him as Savior. They are thoroughly gospel-oriented unlike some signs and wonders ministries today that focus more on the church than the lost.

In Mt 8, by cleansing a leper, Jesus demonstrates that He is capable of cleansing the most profound filth from anyone's life. Leprosy was highly contagious and reviled as evidence of sin. Jesus is sending a subtle signal here regarding forgiveness of sins. But it will not remain subtle for long.

Christ rewards the faith of a Centurion, a Gentile, saying to those around Him that He has found no one in Israel with this type of faith. It's a shocking statement made concerning a man most Jews would consider as lost and unworthy of faith, more so considering His followers are standing right there. They who are God’s chosen people should understand faith better than most. They have much to learn, particularly about how the Messiah will minister to Gentiles. Perhaps the church today has something to learn from this about how God will minister to the lost. We can be much like the Jews in this respect. It's far easier to accept and assimilate those who are like us rather than those who are not. 

While it would be easy to focus on the healing and the casting out of demons in Mt 8:14-17, doing so runs the danger of missing the reason for those miracles, "To fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah."  The signs are the evidence of who Jesus is, not a guarantee, as has been errantly taught by some, that all will be healed. If that were so, He would have healed all the people at the Pool of Bethesda, not just one (Jn 5:2-9).

Likewise, it's easy to miss the point in the lesson about calming the storm. Authority over the weather is not the issue nor are the "stormy seas of life" as many have taught about this passage. His presence is the primary point. He is with them in the boat. He told them they were going to the other side. When the waters got rough, they forgot the promise. They forgot who they were with. They made the error of allowing the circumstances to overwhelm His presence and His promise. Their fear became greater than their comfort in knowing that Jesus was with them.

We see a similar situation with the casting of the demons into the pigs. Jesus sees the possessed man as important and worth any sacrifice needed to deliver him. All the people see is the loss of their pigs, a primary source of income for them. They are unwilling to sacrifice everything, perhaps even anything, to see the demoniac made well. Furthermore, we see that the presence of the Lord can mean sacrifice. Even though He has proven His authority over the spirit world, tragically, the people would rather He leave than they lose their earthly possessions.