Matthew – God’s Purposes
I seriously believe that I am a devoted child of God because Jesus won’t let me go far from His sight. It is not because of anything I have done or anything I deserve. It is only because I said yes to Him long ago so I am His and He is mine. Many of us feel that way. But we are like sheep. Sheep are not smart. They are dumb and do dumb things. They follow whoever is leading at the moment…even if that means off a cliff to their death. Remember what your parents said (and now you say it to your kids)? “If Billy jumped off a cliff, are you going to do it, too?” We say no, at the time, but then we jump with Billy!
I read a true story a few years ago about a Turkish shepherd who had about 1000 sheep in his care. One of the adult sheep decided to make a run for it from the grass where they were feeding and cared for by the shepherd. He ran right off a high cliff to his death below. One at a time, the other sheep followed! He lost a whole herd that day in a matter of minutes because of one who left and leaped. At the bottom of the cliff was just one big pile of wool sweaters and a huge loss to the economy of the village!
Seriously though, we are thankful our Shepherd goes after us and brings us back. Because of our wanderings, He might find us broken and bruised. Sometimes our Shepherd, like shepherds of sheep, must wrestle us to the ground, tie our legs and carry us back to the fold. Whatever it takes, Jesus comes for us. That’s how much Jesus loves and cares for each one of us who decides to make a run for it. We are so dumb, like sheep, sometimes. It is no wonder we are compared to sheep in the Bible.
Matthew 18, NLT
Parable of the Lost Sheep12 “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost? 13 And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he will rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine that didn’t wander away! 14 In the same way, it is not my heavenly Father’s will that even one of these little ones should perish.
God sent Jesus to go after the lost and save us all, bringing us back to the One who created all and is in all. Praise God for His love–His overwhelming love! What a celebration it is in heaven when we follow the Shepherd and come back to the fold! Baaa! (Happy sheep sound).
I woke with this song this morning before reading this passage…Reckless Love
Before I spoke a word, You were singing over meYou have been so, so good to me
Before I took a breath, You breathed Your life in me
You have been so, so kind to me
Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God
Oh, it chases me down, fights ’til I’m found, leaves the ninety-nine
I couldn’t earn it, and I don’t deserve it, still, You give Yourself away
Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God,
When I was Your foe, still Your love fought for me
You have been so, so good to me
When I felt no worth, You paid it all for me
You have been so, so kind to me
And oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God
Oh, it chases me down, fights ’til I’m found, leaves the ninety-nine
And I couldn’t earn it, and I don’t deserve it, still, You give Yourself away
Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God, yeah
There’s no shadow You won’t light up
Mountain You won’t climb up
Coming after me
There’s no wall You won’t kick down
Lie You won’t tear down
Coming after me…
Dear Lord and Savior,
Thank you for coming after me. I love you with all my heart, mind and soul because You left Your throne in heaven to come after all of us. AND you’re coming back!
In Jesus Name, Amen
We are born with this natural desire to be great. What gets us in trouble is desiring to be the greatEST, to be greatER than anyone else God created. But that is not how Kingdom living works. Whatever gifts or talents God has given us, we use to the glory of God, not to our glory. Jesus points that out to his followers in a great lesson of how to be great and who accomplishes greatness in His eyes. Listen in. Let’s put ourselves in this scene.
About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?”
7 “What sorrow awaits the world, because it tempts people to sin. Temptations are inevitable, but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting. 8 So if your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one hand or one foot than to be thrown into eternal fire with both of your hands and feet. 9 And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.
“Well, then,” Jesus said, “the citizens are free! 27 However, we don’t want to offend them, so go down to the lake and throw in a line. Open the mouth of the first fish you catch, and you will find a large silver coin. Take it and pay the tax for both of us.”
Isn’t that how it is? When we ask God to break our hearts of things that break His, He does. Then He teaches us how to help each other. There are mountain top experiences in our lives when we see Jesus in all His glory reveal Himself to us in special ways. Then there is the real work, God’s work, that He invites and leads us to…at the foot of the mountain…where the people are waiting…people who need help to find and follow Jesus Christ.
14 At the foot of the mountain, a large crowd was waiting for them. A man came and knelt before Jesus and said, 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son. He has seizures and suffers terribly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. 16 So I brought him to your disciples, but they couldn’t heal him.”
Your promise still stands
Six days later Jesus took Peter and the two brothers, James and John, and led them up a high mountain to be alone. 2 As the men watched, Jesus’ appearance was transformed so that his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as light. 3 Suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared and began talking with Jesus.
9 As they went back down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”
As far as the record is concerned, this is the only time Jesus revealed His glory in this way while He was on the earth. The word translated transfigured gives us our English word “metamorphosis.” A metamorphosis is a change on the outside that comes from the inside. (Example is when a caterpillar builds a cocoon and later emerges as a butterfly.) Our Lord’s glory was not reflected but radiated from within. There was a change on the outside that came from within as He allowed His essential glory to shine forth. 
The disciples had to learn that suffering and glory go together. Peter had opposed His going to Jerusalem to die, so Jesus had to teach him that, apart from His suffering and death, there could be no glory. Peter certainly learned the lesson, for in his first epistle he repeatedly emphasized “suffering and glory” (1 Peter 1:6–8, 11; 4:12—5:11). 
To deny self does not mean to deny things. It means to give yourself wholly to Christ and share in His shame and death. Paul described this in Romans 12:1–2 and Philippians 3:7–10, as well as in Galatians 2:20. We will be mocked for knowing and following Christ. This is sharing in what He went through for us.
So, what is your soul worth? 
So, Jesus words to his disciples then is what He is asking of us today who say we love and follow Him;
13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
5 Later, after they crossed to the other side of the lake, the disciples discovered they had forgotten to bring any bread. 6 “Watch out!” Jesus warned them. “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
“Little faith” was one of our Lord’s favorite names for His disciples (Matt. 6:30; 8:26; 14:31). Of course, “little faith” is better than no faith. The disciples had many lessons to learn before they would graduate to “great faith.”
Comedian, Jeff Foxworthy, had a catch phrase after telling stories of the follies and antics of people he grew up with in his family and among his Southern country friends, “And, here’s your sign.” If you want to know who people are, you watch what they do. Sometimes we just shake our heads.
There is much more going on in this short, simple passage. Why did our Lord talk about the weather? To reveal to His enemies their own dishonesty and stubborn blindness. They could examine the evidence in God’s world and draw valid conclusions, but they would not examine the evidence He had presented. His enemies would not believe, and therefore they could not believe (John 12:37ff.). 
Do we ask God for signs along our journey of faith? This is tricky to understand. If we are asking for God to confirm our next step in a work He is inviting us to do, then we pray asking for details to be worked out for His glory. This sign of confirmation that we are on the right track and in sync with His Holy Spirit is welcomed. But to question WHO He is not. We do not test God.
Jesus Heals Many People
32 Then Jesus called his disciples and told them, “I feel sorry for these people. They have been here with me for three days, and they have nothing left to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry, or they will faint along the way.”
The feeding of the four thousand differs from the feeding of the five thousand. The five thousand were mostly Jewish people who had been with him only one day. The four thousand were mostly Gentiles who had been with him three days and had simply used up their supplies. This miracle taught a special lesson to the disciples. We wonder why the disciples forgot the previous feeding miracle, but most likely they wondered if Jesus would do the same miracle for Gentiles. He did!
(1) The enemies of truth are often religious people who live according to man’s traditions. Satan often uses “religion” to blind the minds of sinners to the simple truths of God’s Word. 
