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E-pistle

                                                      Dr. Dan Hite, President         FreeWay Foundation       September 11, 2009

Critical Reactions to Jesus' Ministry

(Matthew 9:1-38)

Dr. Curt Scarborough

I.  Concentration:  on the contents of this chapter

        1.   Jesus forgave and healed a paralytic man, vv. 1-8.

        2.   Jesus called Matthew, the tax collector, and answered a question

              about fasting, vv. 9-17.

3.      Jesus restored a dead girl to life and healed a sick woman who

touched His garment; He healed two blind men and a mute, vv. 18-34.

4.      Jesus was moved with compassion by the hurting multitudes, and He

told His disciples to pray for more laborers, vv. 35-38.

II.  Meditation:  on the criticisms leveled at Jesus

1.      Jesus forgave a paralytic man's sins, v. 2; the Scribes said, "This Man

blasphemes!" v. 3.

2.      Jesus called Matthew and ate a meal in his home, vv. 9-10; the Pharisees

asked, "Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?"  v. 11.

3.      John the Baptist's disciples resented Jesus' increasing popularity and John's

decreasing popularity (see John 3:30); they asked (critically), "Why do we

and the Pharisees fast often, but Your disciples do not fast?" v. 14.

4.      Jesus healed a man who was mute and demon-possessed, vv. 32-33; the

Pharisees said, "He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons."  v. 34

Blasphemy is the "unpardonable" sin, Matthew 12:24-32.

III.  Meditation:  on the spiritual implications seen here

1.      Jesus demonstrated His power to forgive sins; the physical healing revealed

The man's inner spiritual healing, v. 6; God is omnipotent both in the physical

and the spiritual realms.

2.      Jesus purpose and destiny was to call sinners (not the "righteous") to repentance,

v. 13; we can associate with sinners without participating in their sins.

        3.   "My presence brings joy," Jesus taught in v. 15, and His absence would bring

              sorrow (see Psalm 16:11:  "In your presence is fullness of joy"); Christianity,

             uniquely, is a joyous religion, Philippians 4:4.

        4.   In Matthew 12:25, Jesus answered the same question about who gave Him the

              power to perform miracles:  God or Satan . . . "house-divided"; Jesus' teachings

              are not fantastic fables or fairy tales; rather, they are "reasonable" when studied

             with an open mind and a receptive heart.

IV.  Applications:  as a Christian, I need to . . .

1.      Receive from Jesus both spiritual forgiveness and physical healing.
2.      Seek out opportunities to associate with and witness to sinners.
3.      Rejoice always and in all ways for Christ's abiding presence.
4.      Open my mind and heart to really "hear" Jesus' teachings.

Empowered And Send out

(Matthew 10:1-42)

Dr. Curt Scarborough

I.  Concentration:  on the contents of this chapter

        Jesus called His Twelve Disciples and sent them out to preach the gospel,

        heal the sick, and cast out demons, vv. 1-8.

        His instructions to them dealt with:

1.      Practical provision, vv. 9-15 – money, clothing, food, housing.
2.      Predicted persecution, vv. 16-23 – sheep among wolves, v. 16; kings and

governors, v. 18; brother, father, children, v. 21 . . . hated, v. 22.

3.      Perceptive preparation, vv. 24-31 – as the Master is persecuted, so is the

disciple . . . Jesus will comfort and instruct His witnesses . . . who will

become like Him through their trials and tribulations, vv. 24-25.

4.      Public profession, vv. 32-43 – confessing Christ often results in division from

family and friends, but such "cross-bearing" brings great spiritual benefits.

II.  Meditation:  on the Lord's preparation and training of those He commissions

1.      Jesus empowered His disciples before He sent them out.
2.      He gave them specific instructions on where and how to minister.
3.      He encouraged faithfulness to duty during the times of persecution.
4.      He challenged His disciples with a divine promise of spiritual rewards.

III.  Revelation:  on the spiritual implications seen here

1.      We much "tarry" until endued with power; see Luke 24:49 and Acts 1:8.
2.      God calls us to specific places, to minister to specific people, to accomplish

specific tasks in His name, vv. 5-8.

3.      God does not judge us by our results . . . only by our degree of faithfulness

to His assignments, Matthew 25:21.

4.      Becoming like Jesus Christ inevitably will involve our persecution and

suffering, vv. 24-25; see II Timothy 3:12.

IV.  Applications:  as a Christian, I need to . . .

1.      Ask for and wait for the Holy Spirit's anointing before acting for God.
2.      Allow the Father to assign me to minister the way He chooses, where He

chooses, and to whom He chooses.

3.      Always be faithful to my call to follow Jesus, whatever the cost.
4.      Continually "grow in grace" . . . into Christ's likeness, II Peter 3:18; see

also Ephesians 4:13.

"Leadership . . . the ability to see what no else sees, to listen when others talk and

the ability to be optimistic when others are pessimistic."

- George W. Cummings

            

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