The Notes are Good

11.02 BSF Matthew Week 11, Day 2

My Daily Journal:

I think the harvest field is such a beautiful and fitting image of the calling of Christians. When we plant crops, we turn them over to God. He is the only one who can make something grow. To take it from a seed to a plant producing fruit and seeds. He provides the soil. He provides the nutrients. He provides the rain and sunshine. There is work to be done, including the work of bringing in the harvest, but, as we learn this week, He even provides for that. He doesn’t say go and hire people or go and beg people or go and threaten people or go and scare/guilt people into the work. He says to pray and God will provide.

We often forget this and begin to think we (you and I) need to get busy making plans and recruiting. We need to get out there and polish our sales pitch. God does call us to get out of our “holy huddle”, but it also makes it abundantly clear that the workers, the work, the power, the authority and even the harvest all are from and for Him alone. Anything we allow ourselves to be tricked into thinking comes from our own power is an insult to the One from whom the true power and authority belongs.

My Answers:

3.
a.
It is His nature. They were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd

b.
Ps: The Lord is my shepherd
Is: We all like sheep (Lord laid on Him the iniquity of all) He bore our sins
Je: lost sheep, scattered flock, led astray by shepherds, wandering
Ez: cared for self rather than flock, I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable
Jo: I am the good shepherd, not a hired hand

c.
Those in churches which do not follow scripture, everyone believe what they want, not the truth of God

4.
a.
Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers

b.
authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness

c.
Authority of truth of His word. Power: the hope, the riches, His incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead (Eph 1)

10.5 BSF Matthew Week 10, Day 5

Today’s Scriptures

My Daily Journal:

Don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Remember that from Matthew 6:3? Over and over again we see Jesus modeling that in the gifts He is giving.

Why does Jesus tell people over and over again not to tell about the miracle he has just performed? It don’t think it is because He wants to hide it. But, on the other hand, it is not something that He is doing for any purpose other than as a personal gift to those He has healed. He is not performing these miracles so that ______ (fill in the blank).

Each healing act is a personal gift. Each touch is a personal touch between Jesus and that individual.

This is not a photo op. It is not a staged event with press releases sent out to highlight the miracle. It is private and personal.

But like anyone else who has been touched by the saving word and touch of the Lord, these healed individuals are incapable of not being a witness. If they don’t do it with their words, they scream it through their actions. Their changed life, heart and spirit are a living testimony to the gift they have been given. It, in my opinion, is not out of an act of disobedience that they profess the gift they have received – it is because the transformation permeates their life and the new spirit in them, by nature, witnesses through them to all who have ears.

My Answers:

12.
a.
Son of David

b.
Isaiah: the eyes of the blind be opened
Jeremiah: raise up for David: The Lord Our Righteous Savior

c.
Healing of family members

13.
a.
His gift is for that individual. He is not giving it to gain fame or recognition from others, but as a personal connection to that individual

b.
How can you not share the good news of Christ? Joy and new life is contagious.

14.
a.
It was not a process, it was not a cure over time or some sort of treatment plan – they were healed and saw and spoke

b.
1. Amazed: Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel
2. Scoffed (Pharisees): It is by the prince of demons that he drives out demons

c.
1. Accept and rejoice
2. Scoff as superstition and fairy tale

d.
It is the personal connection, the personal gift. Jesus doesn’t want to just heal me, he wants to connect with me to be reunited with me

10.4 BSF Matthew Week 10, Day 4

Today’s Scriptures

My Daily Journal:

“While He was saying this…” Be careful as you read the passage this week that you don’t miss those 5 opening words.

What was He saying? “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”

What does that have to do with this synagogue leader showing up with this request?

Let’s compare/contrast the actions of this leader/father with his dying/dead child and that of another biblical leader/father and his dying/dead child. Let’s turn back to 2 Samuel 12:14-24.

David is only a man. He was a faithful man and loved by God, but he was only a man. Jesus is the “son of David.” Later in Matthew we will hear him called this by the blind men. It is a true statement and important for fulfillment of prophecies. But Jesus does not stand on David. He is not a reincarnation of that king. He is not an add-on, a patch, an addition to what has come before. He is something new (but also something eternal). He is King Jesus from the authority of sitting at the throne of God, not from sitting at the throne of David. His power and authority do not end at death.

What an amazing comfort for all who have lost loved ones. They are not dead. In God’s eyes and power, they are only asleep. With a single calling from His lips they will rise to life again, none worse for having experienced the sleep of death.

My Answers:

10.
a.
25-26 woman, 12 years, bleeding, uncured, Docs, broke, 27 touched, 28 “if touch be healed” 29 healed
30 Jesus asked who? L45, Denial L46, Power Mrk33, Confession, 22. “your faith has healed you” Mrk 34 “go in peace and be free from suffering”

b.
She had been bleeding for 12 years. Long suffering afflictions are simply waiting on God’s timing

11.
a.
Synagogue leader

b.
She was on death’s door. None of his discussion was about Jesus it was about his daughter. He must have held out hope that Jesus could save her, but, is that faith or desparation?

c.
He did not judge Darius and his faith (or lack there of), instead He took on the love of this father for His child

10.3 BSF Matthew Week 10, Day 3

Today’s Scriptures

My Daily Journal:

Who are you? What defines you? Is it your work? Your title? Your degrees? The great things you have accomplished in your past? The wrongs you have committed in your past? The pain you have brought to others? The burden of pain that others put on you? Is it a physical characteristic? Is it a physical constraint or illness?

In these chapters of Matthew on the power and authority of Jesus, we also see the transformation that occurs in those He touches. The paralyzed man walks, the angry and possessed find peace, the sick are made well. But with that, their identity is changed. “The paralyzed man” is no longer paralyzed. “The bleeding woman” is no longer bleeding. So what are they then?

In each case they become witnesses. In their words and actions they serve, they obey, but they also are living witnesses to the power and authority of Jesus. They are filled with joy and want to share it with others.

The spiritual leaders of the day could accept this transformation for the blind, sick, deaf, mute, paralyzed, leprous, bleeding, feverish. But not for tax collectors and sinners. That was crossing the line.

The contrast was that they had chosen their path. It wasn’t just something that happened to them, a series of unfortunate events. It was a choice onto the wrong road.

But Jesus calls one and all. His heart is for those on the wrong road to get them onto the right road. He has no desire to make them go backward and retrace their steps down that wrong path, He simply wants to move them, immediately, onto the right path.

For those who had spent their life following the law of sacrifice, this was too much of a short-cut. You can’t just cut over – you made your bed, now lie in it. These sinners and tax collectors should get what they deserve.

In that thinking, it implies they (the pharisees) deserve something else. They have earned their righteousness through their sacrifices and discipline. But Jesus points them back to the teaching of the prophets to remind them that God values mercy above sacrifice.

My Answers:

6.
a.
Levi

b.
sitting at his tax booth, Got up, left everything, followed Him, held great banquet with large crowd of tax collectors and others

c.
i. Disciples must deny self, take up cross, follow me
ii. died to sin, live it no more: free from sin, slaves to righteousness
iii. turn to God from idols, serve the living and true God
iv. turn to God from idols, serve the living and true God

d.
How I spend my time and the words I use. Through the love and care I have for others. Where my talents go

7.
They believed themselves to have earned righteousness, yet, they were not humble or poor in spirit, they judged but ignored themselves, they thought themselves spiritual rich, but were wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked

8.
a.
Jesus

b.
He is Lord, God, the Builder, the righteous and just.

c.
those he had called, the disciples/believers

9.
2 Cor 5:17, New creation in Christ Matt 5:17, fulfill the law

10.2 BSF Matthew Week 10, Day 2

Today’s Scriptures

My Daily Journal:

I loved going to the Mark and Luke passages in addition to the Matthew story. The other gospels really highlight the love, faith and creativity of the friends of this paralyzed man. To have such friends and to be such a friend to others.

But, focusing on the Matthew passage, the lack of those elements of the story draws even more to the importance of the story to highlight Jesus’ authority and power over sin.

My children with their school would occasionally go on a field trip. To go, they needed two things: money (to cover admission or other expenses) and a signed permission slip. The child cannot sign their own permission slip. A friend cannot sign it. The teacher or principal cannot sign it. They do not have the authority. Only the one in charge, that child’s parent, can sign it. The child may have the money (power), but without the signed authorization, they are not getting on the bus.

If the bank loans you money to buy a car, do I have the authority to forgive that debt? Can I so, you no longer owe? Unless I am the bank, that would be fraud, it would be a lie.

Psalm 51.4 reminds us that all sin is against God and God alone. That doesn’t mean we don’t harm others through our sin, it means the withdrawal we make through sin comes from God’s bank. He alone holds the note of our debt.

So, who can say “your sins are forgiven?” Only one with the authority to speak as the holder of the instrument of debt. Only God Himself can forgive sin.

If Jesus is not God, then He just committed fraud. He signed a document that only God has the authority to sign. The teachers of the law recognized this – their thoughts immediately went to blasphemy, claiming to be God when you are not. But they failed to consider the alternative: Jesus is God. He holds both the authority and power in His hands. He says with authority, quit making payments and then he acts with power to pay the debt in full on our behalf.

Words and actions, Authority and Power, Fully man and fully God.

My Answers:

3.
a.
The men who brought the paralyzed man

b.
Through prayer, through love, through words, through the spirit, through scripture, through music, through events

4.
a.
2. son; your sins are forgiven 6. Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins

b.
got up and went home. He obeyed.

5.
Mark: gathered in such large #s no room left, 4 men carrying made opening in roof then lowered man on mat, Jesus knew in his spirit what they were thinking. Luke: Pharisees and teacher sitting there, power of Lord with Jesus to heal, through the roof tiles, “Friend” “Who can forgive sins but God alone”, went home praising God, seen remarkable things

09.5 BSF Matthew Week 9, Day 5

Today’s Scriptures

My Daily Journal:

Pop-Quiz Time for the Apostles.

Let’s review.

They heard the sermon on the mount where Jesus told them not to worry.

They heard Him teach them how to pray. They also heard the promise that God will answer those prayers.

They heard Him speak with authority, above that of any one in the temple.

They heard Him speak of coming to fulfill prophecy.

They saw His authority over all forms of infirmities and His ability to heal.

They heard Him say to leave your old life behind, don’t rely on what you used to know and do but follow Him first and only.

So, here comes the pop-quiz. Where should you test a bunch of fishermen? How about, on a boat?!?

How should the test be conducted? How about a storm? Something along the lines of, “The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat…” (see Matthew 7:25) What, oh what, would a wise man do???

What did they do? Pray or panic? They panicked. Oh, you of little faith. C- grade at best! (get it? “below “c” level”…sorry, bad storm on the sea pun!)

I don’t mean to be hard on the apostles. How often do we do the same thing? How often do I? I hear the words, I understand them and I want to apply them, but when storms come up, I go blank, I rely on myself, I show my “little faith.”

But, like the apostles, Jesus saves me. And, let’s be clear, this must have been a major storm… these were guys who made their living on the water… they knew a deadly storm. But, Jesus tells us we don’t need to fear even the deadly storms.

We don’t even need to fear the demon possessed.

I thought it interesting that the demons are aware of their ultimate outcome. “Did you come to torture us before the appointed time?” They know what is ahead. They know who is in control and who is the judge, the administrator of justice.

But how often do we fail the test, too? Do we put worry about livelihood over faith in eternal life? Do we put profit concerns over prophecy fulfilled. What is eternal life and salvation worth? 2000 pigs? I would hope so.

Finally, when we are called to follow Jesus, we are also appointed a place for that calling. The demon possessed man wanted to get out of town. He wanted to start anew. But Jesus had a special mission field for him and it was in his own backyard. This may have been the hardest mission field imaginable – but he obeyed. What an amazing transformation. From living in the tombs of the dead to being the one inviting others to eternal life!

My Answers:

12.
a.
Jesus was sleeping, he got up and rebuked the storm

b.
Authority over nature

c.
They had heard Him call Himself Lord, they had seen others put their faith in Him – would he then die in a storm? Did they trust the power of the storm over the power of God

d.
Heart issues – Ezek 36:26

13.
a.
lived in the tombs – so violent that no one could pass that way

b.
The demons identified Jesus for whom He is, the Son of God. They identified that there was an appointed time at which the demons would be tortured

c.
Asked to come with Jesus but Jeses did not let him and told him to stay and witness

d.
To leave – they loved their livelihood more than their lives. Swines over Salvation. Profit over Prophecy Fulfilled.

e.
“keep faith under wraps – it may offend someone and lose a sale” We don’t want our faith to interfere with our livelihood

09.4 BSF Matthew Week 9, Day 4

Today’s Scriptures

My Daily Journal:

What is THE most important thing? What is the ONE thing that over-rides everything else?

Many manufacturing companies list Safety as the #1 objective. Nothing ever trumps safety. For other organization it may be honor, for others service above self. For being a christian, a Christ follower, it means Christ is #1. Anything we put ahead of Christ means that Christ is not #1. We must leave our old lives behind, our old way of doing things and our trust in the comfortable things we thought we knew before learning the real truth.

Does that mean Christ is in-compassionate to families and death? Absolutely not. Look at His response in John 11:33 in the family’s mourning of Lazareth. But He does mean that even this most extreme and basic thing – feeling sorrow for the loss of a loved one, cannot be placed as something above God.

Following Jesus means He is out in front of you. This is not easy. I grow impatient and rush ahead, looking in my rear-view mirror for Jesus to “have my back.” But that is not following. That is trying to drive forward using the rear view mirror. That is an accident waiting to happen. If that were how a bus driver operated their bus, they would be unfit for their job. If that is how we live as christians, we are unfit for service. But it means patience. It means waiting on God’s timing and following Him even into places and things that I am not comfortable doing on my own. That would mean relying on Him first and only!

My Answers:

10.
a.
Following Christ is not an occupation. The church may compensate and support individuals in ministry, but it is not like the teachers in the synagogue who received housing, room and board for their adherence to the law

b.
What do you put first in your life? God or something else – if tell God to wait, then He is not first

c.
No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God

11.
a.
It must be first in your life, nothing is of a higher priority, not family, not self – It is not for personal gain or comfort, but it is a calling and it is work

b.
My rewards for my ministry are not on this world. I need to be more patient and wait on the Lord. I need to put Him alone above and before everything.

09.3 BSF Matthew Week 9, Day 3

Today’s Scriptures

My Daily Journal:

In each of the healings I was struck by the unconditional gift they embody. It wasn’t “let’s make a deal.” It was freely given.

There is so little in our actions with others that is unconditional. So much of what we do is deal making, “what’s in it for me?” WII-FM? quid pro quo.

But that is not the nature of the “feast”. It is not purchased by anything we do and actions we take to try to take credit for buying our way into the feast are an insult to the one who actually paid the price. It is an invitation that is open to all people, from the sun rise to the sun set, regardless of race or politics, origin or upbringing.

But when we are healed we are expected to act like one who has been healed. Peter’s mother-in-law got up. She did not languish. She did not continue to act as one who is sick. She got up and got to work.

Where do I need to get up and get to work? In what actions must I become unconditional?

My Answers:

6.
a.
Faith, care for others, authority, trust, recognition of power and authority

b.
Addressed as Lord, concern for servant, do not deserve to have you, “just say the word”

c.
Trusted in Him alone. Prayerfully asked for Him to take all things over.

7.
a.
All people, Gentiles: Mal 1:11, My name great from sun rise to sun set; Is 19:23 Egypt/Assyria worship together

b.
Eternal life

C.
The saved come seeking from far and near, but some “in the faith” have received their reward through their religiousness. Good people don’t go to heaven, saved people do.

8.
a.
It is His nature to heal – there was no request or plea, He just did it with a single touch

b.
got up and began to wait on Him

9.
a.
Is 53:4 took up infirmities and bore our diseases

b.
There was a cost of healing – a power that was released. But Jesus took on all human form and paid this cost freely, without discrimination and without recompense

c.
healing is unconditional. Jesus has absolute authority over any affliction (or anything else). He rewards faith

09.2 BSF Matthew Week 9, Day 2

Today’s Scriptures

My Daily Journal:

In today’s lesson we see the first “I am” statement of Jesus recorded in the gospels. “I am willing”. This is different than saying I will. It is not a promise of some future fulfillment, it is an attribute of who Jesus is and an insight into the grace for which He came to earth.

“The prescribed ritual for the healed “leper” is of interest. Three separate ceremonies are required: for the first day (Lev. 14:2–8; also invoked for houses, 14:48–53), the seventh (14:9), and the eighth (14:10–32). The first-day ritual is performed by the priest outside the camp or city from which the “leper” has been banished. Cedar wood, crimson cloth, and a live bird are dipped into an earthen vessel containing a mixture of fresh water and the blood of a second bird. The “leper” (or “leprous” house) is sprinkled with this mixture seven times, after which the live bird is set free. The “leper” is admitted into the camp or city after he washes his clothes, shaves all his hair, and bathes, but he is not allowed to enter his residence. That is permitted him on the seventh day after shaving, laundering, and bathing again. On the eighth day he brings to the sanctuary oil and sheep for various offerings – whole, meal, purification, and reparation. The whole and purification animals may be commuted to birds if the “leper” is poor. However, the reparation lamb and log of oil may not be changed, because the blood of the lamb and the oil are needed to daub the “leper’s” right ear lobe, right thumb, and right big toe.” from: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0012_0_12153.html

How interesting that readmission into fellowship required the blood of a lamb and anointing with oil. The sacrificial lamb and the anointing oil of a King with no substitution allowed.

How interesting that Jesus did not just seek just to heal the leper, but He sought to make repairs of not only his body but his connection with others. This is a man who would have been denied for some time the feel of any human contact. Not only would others have been afraid of catching his disease, but it would have made them unclean and prohibited them from their worship. But Jesus’ first action is to touch him. And, even knowing that the now healed leper would disobey and fail to return to the synagogue and submit to the law, Jesus still healed him. That disobedience had a cost which Jesus also bore.

My Answers:

3.
Simple prayer – prayer of faith, not begging – Knowing that God has the power

4.
a.
Reached out and touched the man with leprosy

b.
Filled with compassion

c.
I am willing, be clean, don’t tell, go do the sacrifices commanded

d.
healed him and sought to reconnect him to the community, but the man disobeyed, which prevented Jesus from going into towns

5.
His care for the leper – That he didn’t just want to heal, but for reparation

08.5 BSF Matthew Week 8, Day 5

Today’s Scriptures

My Daily Journal:

Stolen words used for unearned earthly gain.

The words of the bible are precious. They are not just words, they have power, meaning and purpose. But when people use these words in a twisted fashion, they don’t just deceive, they are thieves.

If I take a tool from my neighbors garage, I am a thief. If I take credit for artwork I did not create, I am a thief. If I take the Words of God and use them for my glory instead of His, I am a thief.

We may deceive ourselves into justifying our theft. We may think that watering down the scripture is a means to get people in the door. We may think that it is better to avoid the “controversial” parts of the gospel. But what does Jesus say? There is never a time that Jesus does not reflect the glory of God alone. His food was the do the will of Him who sent Him and to finish His work.

What do you stand on? Is it what you want to be true? Is it what you would like the bible to say? Or do you stand on the one and only solid foundation.

Actually, standing is not enough. We are not just called to stand on the cornerstone, we are called to be built on it, as it says in 1 Peter, into a holy house of worship to the Living God.

My Answers:

11.
a.
Matt: Jesus knowing them (not His sheep)
Luke: do not do what Jesus says
John: refuse to come to Christ, do not have the love of God in heart, do not accept Christ
John: Belief in the Father
Hosea: rejected what is good, set up own kingship aside from God, made idols

b.
The words that came out of their mouth were lies and for show. The words did not reflect submission to the rule of God or a contrite spirit, they were stolen words used for illegal earthly gain, which does not carry into heaven

c.
I am, myself, at times. When I rely on myself and not the H/S, I lie to myself. When I pray afterwards instead of before, I am being my own prince, When I put trust in men who look the part and sound good instead of the word of God, I live a lie.

12.
That He alone is the Judge on Judgment Day. No one enters except by His knowledge. He alone is Lord.

13.
a.
Hear the words of the Lord AND put them into practice

b.
They don’t practice their faith (if they have any at all). They put it in a box (Sunday morning) or on a shelf (unread bible) and go about living their life with what they think is right or what they want right to be.

c.
Isaiah: Lay a stone in Zion, tested stone, precious cornerstone, rely on it never stricken w/ panic
1 Cor: No one can lay any other foundation: Jesus Christ
1 Peter: Living stone, rejected by humans chosen by God, we on Him a spiritual house, holy priesthood

d.
On Christ the solid rock I stand all other ground is sinking sand