Daily Devotions
Matthew
Standing in Awe of God's Response
Text: Matthew 13 : 1 - 23
Our hearts must stand in awe as we ponder the gravity of the meaning of these words Jesus uttered solemnly.
“Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I should heal them.”
MATTHEW 13:15
What lessons may be drawn from these solemn words?
1. The Sovereignty of God
The first lesson that must be learned concerns the sovereignty of God! Any true knowledge of God must include comprehension of His sovereign will.
a) He could choose to keep the door opened
God had in fact done this for centuries! The fact that He had sent Jesus to earth to speak to Israel reinforces the fact that He had kept the door wide open – until now!
b) He could choose to shut the door
The right to close a door must be accepted as a prerogative of God. It is a humbling thought to ponder over! How we must tremble before the presence of a sovereign God.
2. The Mercies of God
We must not think that God lacks mercy. A knowledge of the history of Israel would reveal an important truth! God had been most gracious to Israel. A less merciful God would have seen Israel wiped out from the face of the earth a long time ago, because of the scandalous sins the nation had perpetrated innumerably!
Was God totally merciless in the time of Jesus? Hardly! Yes, Jesus may have chosen the use of parables as His main teaching method. It was harder to comprehend. However, if the individual was really sincere, and if he were to make a genuine effort to understand, and if he had sought to become a disciple of Jesus, he would still be able to find the mercies of God!
REMINISCENT OF MESSAGES PREACHED IN PAST ERAS
There were two prophets whose ministries were similar to that of Jesus. Both experienced especially negative responses. Let us look at the following texts from the writings of Isaiah and Jeremiah.
1. The Anger of the Lord (Isaiah)
Isaiah preached about the fierce anger of the Lord against unrepentant Israel.
“The Lord sent a word against Jacob,
And it has fallen on Israel…The Syrians before and the Philistines behind;
And they shall devour Israel with an open mouth.For all this His anger is not turned away.
But His hand is stretched out still.”
ISAIAH 9:8, 12
The last phrase is repeated twice more (Isaiah 9:17f, 21f) to express the depth of disappointment God felt as Israel continued to ignore the Word that was spoken to the nation.
2. Where God finally refused to hear any prayers of intercession (Jeremiah)
Jeremiah wrote even sterner words of warning to a nation that seemed bent on pursuing a course of self-destruction!
a) Jeremiah instructed not to pray for the nation
“Therefore do not pray for this people,
Nor lift up a cry or prayer for them,
Nor make intercession to Me,
for I will not hear you.”
JEREMIAH 7:16
b) Israel warned that their prayers would not be entertained
“I will not hear them in the time
That they cry out to Me because of their trouble.”
JEREMIAH 11:14b
c) Where the avenue of prayer is closed
“Then the Lord said to me,
‘Even if Moses and Samuel stood before Me,
My mind would not be favourable toward this people.
Cast them out of My sight, and let them go forth.”
JEREMIAH 15:1
What Isaiah and Jeremiah had preached in their lifetime, Jesus now proclaimed to His disciples.
WHERE JESUS IS REJECTED
Grave consequences must be considered where there is the rejection of Jesus! All must be informed of the seriousness of the sin of rejection of Jesus! But why should anyone need to reject Jesus and His teachings? Rejection must be seen and understood for what it is! It is a most serious sin indeed!