Be Still And Know

Matthew 13:31-32 Here is another illustration Jesus used: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of garden plants; it grows into a tree, and birds come and make nests in its branches.” This is one of the most famous of Jesus’ parables and the point is clear. Often the kingdom of heaven expresses itself in small and humble ways. It doesn’t attract much interest or attention and is overlooked by most people. But just like a tiny mustard seed that is so small that it can easily be missed, or blown away by the wind, it can grow up into something vast. In the Middle East a mustard seed can grow into a twelve-foot tree that can provide a home for many birds. Jesus was clearly telling us not to look down on things or dismiss them just because they are small. When God is at work, miracles are just around the corner! I have often been a part of small Christian organisations that have looked seriously unimpressive to any obs

Matthew 13:30 “Let both grow together until the harvest. Then I will tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds, tie them into bundles, and burn them, and to put the wheat in the barn.” In order to understand this parable fully, it is helpful to know the kind of weeds Jesus was referring to. They were called bearded darnel which, in the early stages of their growth, look exactly like wheat. As they grow, they start to look very different but, by that time, their roots are so entwined with the roots of the wheat that it is impossible to remove them without destroying the crop as well. As a result, it is necessary to allow the darnel to grow until harvest time, when the separation can then take place. The point of the parable is clear. Jesus was telling his disciples that they were living in a world in which there were good and bad people. But it was even more complicated than that. Some people appeared to be good and turned out to be bad, while others gave every appearance of being bad but turned out t

Matthew 13:23 [Jesus said,] “The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!” The parable of the sower mixes realism with huge encouragement. It confronts us with the fact that, when the word of God is spoken, there is a wide range of reactions. Some people just don’t want to know. Others are incredibly excited for a short while and then forget all about it. Another group receive the word, start applying it to their lives in a serious way but are then distracted by the pressures and temptations of life. Anyone who has been involved in sharing the good news of Jesus will recognise that all of this is an accurate reflection of life. However, here’s the massive encouragement: when God’s word finds a home in the right soil, it doesn’t merely cause growth to happen but it leads to an enormous harvest. How amazing for a farmer to look at his crop and realise that it is 30,

Matthew 13:20-21 The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word. Today, farmers sow seed with great precision and very little is wasted, but in Jesus’ time it was a much more haphazard process. Skilled as the farmer might have been, when he scattered his seed with his hand it was bound to land in a variety of places. It landed on the path, in rocky soil or among thorns so only a proportion would find good soil. Jesus used this parable to describe the very different ways that people responded to his message, and we can easily recognise the truth of his words today. The seed that landed on the rocky soil struggled from the outset because it couldn’t put down adequate roots. It grew fast for a while but soon keeled over and died. Jesus said that this was like people who heard the message of the kingdom a

Matthew 12:49-50 [Jesus] pointed to his disciples and said, “Look, these are my mother and brothers. Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother!” We know very little about Jesus’ family. On this occasion we hear that they had come to see him and wanted to speak with him. By this time, it seems that Joseph was dead and so Mary came with Jesus’ brothers and sisters. Jesus used the moment to point out that the family that meant most to him was made up of those who were obedient to his Father’s will. Blood relationships are important - and the Old Testament law made clear the fundamental responsibility that we all have for and to our birth families - but what matters far more is obedience to God’s will. Belonging is essential to our wellbeing. We all need the security of knowing where we belong. Many people in our society have had a disappointing experience of family life. They have felt let down and some have been rejected and even abused. But whether our experi

Matthew 12:36-37 [Jesus said,] “I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak. The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you.” Mother Teresa said: “Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.” How true! I am sure we can all think of kind words that have been said to us over the years. The words might have only taken a few seconds to speak and were probably forgotten by the speaker soon after, but we can still remember the exact words and the effect that they had on us. We clearly need to be incredibly careful with the words that we use, and Jesus emphasises this by asserting that, one day, we will have to give an account for what we say. Unfortunately, Mother Teresa’s wise observation needs to be applied to our unkind words as well. They too will have long echoes. It has been wisely said: “Be careful with your words. Once they are said they can only be forgiven, not forgotten.” Because most of us speak a large num

Matthew 12:35 [Jesus said,] “A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart.” Jesus’ teaching couldn’t be clearer. Our words and actions flow from what’s going on in our hearts. That means we all need to focus our attention on our hearts to ensure that there is a constant supply of goodness to feed through into our everyday lives. Jesus’ teaching to his disciples about the vine and the branches in John 15 makes clear how this happens. It all relies on a continual relationship of abiding in him. Jesus said: “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Dipping into Christian faith from time to time is not what is in view here. Merely attending Christian worship services and meetings occasionally won’t give us what we need. To receive the life of Christ we need to be fully part of the vine, open

Matthew 12:31 [Jesus said,] “So I tell you, every sin and blasphemy can be forgiven—except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which will never be forgiven.” Some years ago, I went to visit a woman who was absolutely convinced that she had committed the unforgivable sin. She was devastated by this and in a state of great distress. Having listened to her carefully for a while it was clear to me that there was no possibility that she had committed the sin of blaspheming against the Holy Spirit. Jesus was describing people who had changed all the labels. They branded good as evil and evil as good. That’s why they referred to Jesus as the prince of demons and suggested that was the reason why he had the ability to cast out demons. Jesus wasn’t describing people who inadvertently say the wrong thing, but rather those who deliberately shape their lives in opposition to him. People who commit the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit wouldn’t be sad at what they had done. They would be delighted. The woman I

Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you…For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” The ‘yoke of the law’ was an expression that the rabbis in Jesus’ day often used. Everyone would have been familiar with the sight of two animals pulling a heavy load, firmly attached to one another by a wooden yoke. Jesus knew that when people were yoked to the requirements of the Jewish law it could be incredibly oppressive. He offered another yoke and his was completely different. It was still a yoke, and therefore very demanding, but it was both easy and light. Those who accepted it could find refreshment and renewal. When two oxen work together in a yoke, they can be immensely powerful and effective, but it is crucial that it fits comfortably. An ill-fitted yoke could cause agony. In these chapters Jesus spelled out the massive demands that are placed on his disciples. It’s a life that is full

Matthew 11:25-26 Jesus prayed this prayer: “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike. Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way!” I seem to have spent my life surrounded by children. When I was nine years old my mother gave birth to twin girls – much to her surprise! From then on, I have almost always had children around me - whether our own three children, our foster daughter or friends’ children who my wife has been looking after. I thank God for this blessing and dare to think that it has helped me to understand Jesus’ insistence that the only way to enter his kingdom is by being childlike. I don’t believe that Jesus was in any way belittling the blessing and importance of being wise and clever. His point is that wisdom and cleverness by themselves will never lead to spiritual wisdom. Indeed, they can often obstruct the path to the kingdom of God by making a person arrogant and

Matthew 10:38-39 Jesus said, “If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine. If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it.” These statements take us to the heart of Jesus’ ministry. Our society assumes that we find life by acquiring more and more things. But Jesus turned that thinking on its head and declared that the way to find life is by giving everything away. This is precisely how he lived. He was constantly giving himself to others and, on the cross, he gave absolutely everything. Here, he spelled out that anyone who wants to follow him must consider that their life is not their own and be ready to lose it completely in order to find the life that he came to bring. Clinging on to life is the surest way of losing it. Crucifixion was the most terrible form of torture and execution. It was carefully designed to ensure that the person being crucified suffered for the longest possible time. Some people hung fr

Matthew 10:29-31 [Jesus said:] “What is the price of two sparrows – one copper coin? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.” Jesus had just been spelling out what life was going to be like for his disciples. He made it clear that it was going to be really tough and that they would find themselves in situations of conflict and danger. But he wanted them to step out with confidence because God knew them perfectly and would always protect them. He made the point by referring to sparrows; surely God couldn’t be that bothered with them. But, in fact, Jesus told the disciples, not even a single sparrow could fall to the ground without God knowing all about it. In short, nothing gets past God. He knows the whole story of our lives and so we can head into our future with complete confidence, knowing that God not only knows all about us, bu

Matthew 10:16 [Jesus said:] “Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves.” When I lived in India, I got used to snakes being a constant threat. Every few months we would hear about deaths caused by snakes in our area, and they understandably generated a good deal of fear. When you live in the presence of snakes, you quickly come to respect their cleverness and shrewdness. Here Jesus invited his disciples to try to be like them. As they headed out on their mission they were going to face fierce opposition. Their opponents were going to do everything possible to stop their work so they would need to find ways to outwit them. They would need to be creative and determined, constantly ready to adapt to new situations. If Jesus had simply told his disciples to model their lives on the shrewdness of snakes they might have got the wrong impression. Snakes have never had a wonderful reputation! They are disliked for their slyness and cunning. Jesus balanced

Matthew 10:8 [Jesus said:] “Give as freely as you have received!” Everything we have ever received has been a gift. Look at your family, home, car, job, friends, education, talents, opportunities – and your very breath – they are all a gift. We like to point to our hard work and effort and suggest that we deserve many of the things that we have, but the truth is that even our ability to work hard is a gift from God. Everything is a gift from his hands. Jesus reminded his newly recruited disciples that they had received freely and so should be willing to give freely to others. He was sending them on an incredibly tough mission. He told them that he was sending them out as sheep among wolves. Wolves are famous for their ability to tear sheep apart. The mission was clearly going to be brutally challenging, but Jesus told his disciples that they should be ready to embark on it because they had received so much. This was now their opportunity to give to others as freely as they had received themselves. W

Matthew 9:37-38 [Jesus] said to his disciples, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.” This is a fascinating statement from Jesus. He was seeing a huge reaction to his ministry with crowds of people responding to both his teaching and his healing. The harvest was clearly enormous, and so he reflected on the need for more workers. The obvious question to ask is this: if it was so clear that more workers were needed, why was it necessary for the disciples to pray about it? Why didn’t God recruit more helpers automatically? This is a really important question. And the answer helps us to understand the nature of prayer. Because God is all powerful the answer has to be that he could have instantly enlisted more workers. But God has chosen to work in partnership with us. He wants us to be involved in his work of mission - and the most intimate way in which we can join in partnership with him is thr

Matthew 9:17 Jesus said, “No one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the old skins would burst from the pressure, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. New wine is stored in new wineskins so that both are preserved.” Glass bottles did exist in Jesus’ day, but it was usual for wine to be stored in skins. When new wine is stored, it is still fermenting and so it is essential that the skin has a degree of elasticity. However, as that skin gets older it becomes hard and brittle so becomes useless for new wine. The point that Jesus was making would have been very clear to his hearers. He was saying that it would be useless to try to put the good news of the kingdom into the old laws and ceremonies of the Jewish faith. That could only result in disaster. What was needed was a complete change. The new wine of the kingdom would need to be poured into brand new wineskins. All change meets resistance and so it shouldn’t surprise us that Jesus’ message received stiff opposition. Look at any invention an

Matthew 9:13 Jesus said, “For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.” Jesus’ ministry was a continual shock to the Pharisees. They were anxious to obey the Jewish law to the letter, so this governed every aspect of their lives. Tragically, many of them missed the whole point of why they should follow the law. They thought that they were right with God because of the way they stuck to the rules. They went to enormous lengths to ensure that they didn’t become unclean and were particularly careful to keep well away from unsavoury people. So, when the Pharisees saw Jesus spending time with well-known sinners they were apoplectic with shock. They saw this as definitive proof that Jesus couldn’t possibly have been sent by God. Jesus responded to the Pharisees by pointing out that people who were well didn’t need to go to a doctor, only those who were ill. His point was clear. If they were spiritually perfect then they wouldn’t need healing, but bec

Matthew 9:9 As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed him. There are moments in all our lives that act like hinges. In themselves they are small but when we look back on life, they changed everything. I think of the moment in Israel when I met a 19-year-old student in a hotel foyer. She is now my wife. I also think of that incredible moment some years later when my wife told me that she was pregnant for the first time. I couldn’t stop smiling. I think of the moment as a teenager when I was first asked to preach a sermon. The moments came and went, but the whole of life has looked different ever since. This was clearly a hinge moment in Matthew’s life. One moment he was busily at work collecting taxes and the next he had left all of that behind him and was following Jesus. This encounter probably happened near Capernaum, where we know that there was a customs post. Tax co

Matthew 9:2 Some people brought to him a paralysed man on a mat. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralysed man, “Be encouraged, my child! Your sins are forgiven.” On the face of it, the needs of this man were absolutely clear. He was paralysed and needed Jesus to heal him. But Jesus started somewhere else. He knew that the man’s first need was for forgiveness. He then turned his attention to the man’s paralysis and healed him, and the man jumped up and went home. Our first need is forgiveness too, because what matters before anything else is our relationship with God. Until we have been forgiven, we cannot enjoy the blessings of life with him. However, it is very easy for us to be distracted by other issues. Jesus wasn’t for a moment suggesting that the man’s paralysis was unimportant. It just wasn’t the top priority. When we meet people with financial, addiction, health or relationship difficulties it is very easy for all our attention to focus on that particular need. However, Jesus’ example

Matthew 8:33-34 The herdsmen fled to the nearby town, telling everyone what happened to the demon-possessed men. Then the entire town came out to meet Jesus, but they begged him to go away and leave them alone. Jesus’ healing ministry triggered a complete range of reactions. Many people understandably responded with joy and relief, but in the town in our reading it was completely different. Jesus had just healed two demon-possessed men. So far so good. But the demons had entered a herd of pigs nearby who had then hurtled down the steep hillside into the lake and drowned. This was not good news as far as the herdsmen were concerned. In an instant they had lost their livelihood, so they and the townspeople begged Jesus to leave them alone. Jesus always brings change; something that is welcomed by many but never by all. The apostle Paul said that “anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). When Jesus becomes the Lord of our