Category: Matthew

Posted in Luke, Matthew

Me First

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“And He said to another, ‘Follow Me.’ But he said, ‘Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.’ But He said to him, ‘Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.’ Another also said, ‘I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say goodbye to those at home.’ But Jesus said to him, ‘No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.’” Luke 9:59-62

Is there anything wrong with burying your father or saying goodbye to those at home? Of course not. Then why did Jesus say what He said to these seemingly sincere people? One uses the phrase, “permit me first,” and the other says, “first permit me,” yet both preface their requests by calling Jesus, “Lord.” They call Him, “Lord,” but want to set their own terms in following Him.

Jesus is calling you and me to put the kingdom of God first, not ourselves, and not our families. If these two had left everything for the kingdom, it’s very possible Jesus would have given them the assignment of going home first, like He did to the demoniac who was delivered in the chapter before. (Luke 8:39) But Jesus telling you to go home is very different from you telling Jesus that you’re going home before following Him.

I think that family is one of the main idols of the evangelical church in America today. People run their lives around their children, their grandchildren, or their extended family, and just assume that God’s okay with that. Listen to the words of Jesus, “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.” (Matthew 10:37) If family is first you won’t even be able to serve them in a right way because they are in the middle instead of Jesus. This is unhealthy and will end up leading the family you love subtly away from Jesus instead of to Him.

Jesus gave everything for us and He’s asking us to give everything back to Him. When we do, there is a freedom from self that brings a great rest into our lives. Let’s set our hands to the plow called the kingdom of God and trust God with everything else, including our families.

Posted in Matthew

The Scandal of the Gospel 

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field.” Matthew 13:44

What is going on in this parable? It was common in that day to bury treasures because banks weren’t reliable and nothing was safe in houses because of the frequent plundering of wars.   As this man was walking along it is possible that erosion had exposed some piece of the treasure that led him to dig and discover what was there. The present owner was not aware of what was buried in his property because he offered to sell the field for a price that didn’t include treasure’s value.

The joy the buyer felt when he went and sold everything he had was from the deal he knew he was getting.  What he was paying for the field was nothing compared to the value of the treasure hidden in the field so he couldn’t wait for the transaction to be done. Anyone who heard the story later would feel bad for the owner who didn’t get much in return for such a great value.

What does this have to do with the kingdom of God? Those who understand what they are receiving in return for what they’re giving up will be filled with joy because of the scandalous deal they’re getting. I can imagine an angel coming to Gabriel after the gospel plan became clear:

“Sir, I’m here on behalf of many of the angels that are having trouble grasping this new plan. Let me get this straight, human beings who have rebelled against God and abused each other day after day are being offered complete forgiveness, are being adopted as sons and daughters, and are being made kings and priests forever? Those who deserve hell are being given heaven? Is this fair? And what is God getting in return? Their weak faith, wavering love, and often empty promises of obedience? Many of us don’t feel this is right, sir.”

“It’s not about fair,” I can imagine Gabriel replying. “It’s about God’s love and generosity. This is how He wanted it and we are to serve these heirs of salvation no matter how scandalous it may seem to you and me.”

Posted in 2Corinthians, Ephesians, Matthew

Experiencing Joy

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” Matthew 13:44

I am convinced that joy is the key to advancing the kingdom of God. If you find joy in something you automatically want to share it. After the Packers won the Superbowl no one had to command Packer fans to share the news with their friends. When we have great joy in something, sharing flows naturally from it. As John said about writing his first epistle, “These things we write so that our joy may be made complete.” Sharing is actually part of completing the joy we have experienced. 

So how do we experience joy? It’s all about finding a treasure that is hidden in a field. The treasure is God’s love, forgiveness and salvation that can all be experienced by coming to Jesus Christ. Paul calls this relationship with God through Christ, God’s “indescribable gift.” (2Corinthians 9:15) Into this gift we find that God has generously poured every blessing we could ever desire. This gift of intimacy with God will keep being unwrapped for all eternity by those who value it. (See Ephesians 3)

I think the “field” in this parable represents the church, so to experience God’s treasure sometimes we have to get past what’s wrong in whatever congregation we attend.  We may feel the church is outdated, or that we don’t like the music, or we may be bothered by the preacher or the people around us in some way. 

Someone said that if you find a perfect church don’t go there; you’ll ruin it.  Sometimes we have to get past the humanity we find in the church to find the Divine, but be assured that if Jesus is being preached, and the Word of God is being honored, God is there, even if He seems to be hidden from time to time.  Be faithful; there’s a treasure of surpassing value that God wants to reveal to each of us that will bring increasing joy to our ordinary lives.

Posted in John, Matthew, Psalms

A Mission for Meekness

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“Come to me you are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble (meek and lowly) in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

I read a devotional book that used this scripture immediately after I had read Psalm 37:11: “But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy great peace.” I started to get excited and have been on a mission to learn meekness ever since. Here are a few insights I have gleaned in my meditations and study:

  1.  Meekness is not weakness. The Greek word translated, “gentle,” or in some versions, “meek,” was also used to describe horses that they trained for war. When they became “meek,” they were able to be ridden effectively and safely. Power under control.
  2. The differences between a proud heart and a meek heart: 
    1. Pride takes now (or tries to) while the meek allow God to give in His time. The meek inherit
    2. Pride seeks to control while the meek yield to God’s control.
    3. Pride lives under the anxious, heavy burden of being its own savior while the meek enjoy peace because they aren’t trying to do God’s part.
  3.  Jesus promises an experience of rest for all who will come to Him at any time for anything. However, His promise for a life of rest is tied to us taking His yoke upon us and learning from Him how to become meek of heart. When He washed the disciples’ feet He was teaching them about meekness.  He said that they would be blessed if they actually put into practice what He was modeling for them. “If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.” (John 13:17)

We live in a culture that often celebrates selfish ambition, self promotion, and pride. If you embrace the mission of Jesus to teach your heart meekness, you will be going against the culture, but you will also find rest for your soul.

Posted in 2Corinthians, 2Timothy, Matthew

Where are Your Eyes?

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’ Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. ‘You of little faith,’ he said, ‘why did you doubt?’ And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down.” Matthew 14:30-32

God wants us to walk in faith. We might think that when Jesus told Peter to come out of the boat and walk on water that He would keep the water still to make it as easy as possible, but that’s not how He works. Peter got out and the wind got stronger leaving Peter a choice to either keep his eyes on Jesus or to look at the waves and give in to the fear of self preservation. Clearly the wind was under the Lord’s control because as soon as they got to the boat the wind stopped and the waves calmed. The test was then over, Peter got rebuked for his lack of faith, but he was no worse for the wear for going through it. It wasn’t really about life or death as Peter might have thought; it was just a test.

How does God see our  present difficulties? He could easily solve every problem we have right now, but He’s trying to build our faith. The wind is blowing and seemingly calling for our attention, but we must keep our eyes on the Lord to stay walking on top of our circumstances instead of under them. As Paul says, “We walk by faith and not by sight.” (2Corinthians 5:7)

Where will we focus our eyes? Joshua could have looked at God’s promise and presence or at the giants they would face in the land. Gideon could have looked at the odds of his army of 300 defeating the Midianite army of 135,000, or he could look at the One who sent him and gave him a promise. David could have looked at Goliath or at the One who made Goliath look like a little school yard bully that needed to be taught a lesson.

A verse we should all have memorized is 2Timothy 1:7: “For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self discipline.”