OUR FATHER WHOSE WORD IS SOWN ABROAD TO GAIN A GREAT HARVEST

Matthew chapter 13 verses 1 - 9 says this;

1 On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea. 2 And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.

3 Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: “Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. 

6 But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. 8 But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

Interestingly, the events this passage describe begin on the same day on which the events at the end of the previous chapter occured. 

While teaching the multitudes who were following Him, Jesus had a confrontation with the pharisees regarding their demand to be shown a supernatural sign in order to validate what He was teaching. Jesus denied their request and called the pharisees and evil and adulterous generation who would be judged by history.

The political shockwaves that resulted, motivated Jesus' family to come  to His meetings to pursuade Him to go home with them to save Him from the wrath of the powers of the time.

Jesus, left the house and went to sit by the sea where the crowd followed Him. To avoid getting overun, Jesus got onto a boat and began to speak to the people on shore from the boat.

He spoke many cryptic parables to the crowd but the one recorded in this passage is the famous parable of the sower who went into a field to sow and as he scattered the seeds, they fell in four distinct environments where four distinct outcomes were observed;

• On the wayside where people walked
• Birds devoured the exposed seeds
• On stony shallow soil
• Seeds germinated quickly but soon died
• Among thorns
• Seeds were choked by competition
• In deep good soil
• Seeds took root and yielded a harvest

This parable marks a change in gear for the Lord Jesus. Up to this point, He had been teaching about the kingdom of God, its moral structure and its code of conduct.

In this passage, Jesus starts speaking about the dynamics of spreading the good news of the kingdom of God with attention to the conditions that affect the results of distributing the word of God among the people.

Even though the stories he was telling the people were relatable because their subject matter was based on familiar agrarian themes, they were mysterious as to their meaning.

In the next section, we will see Jesus' disciples asking about why the Lord was teaching in opaque parables and we will discuss the Lord's explanation for this and His exposition of the parable of the sower.

Amen.

4

OUR FATHER WHO BRINGS US INTO HIS FAMILY THROUGH FAITH IN JESUS

At one point while Jesus' was talking to the group of people, He got word from the outside of the gathering place that His mother and brothers wanted to speak to Him. Matthew chapter 11 verses 46 - 50 captures the moment;

46 While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him. 47 Then one said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You.”

48 But He answered and said to the one who told Him, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” 49 And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”

The event in this passage parallels the verse in Mark chapter 3 verse 21 that says this;

But when His own people heard about this, they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, “He is out of His mind.”

The Lord Jesus was holding  high profile meetings with religious leaders getting i to confrontatkons with Him and His family became concerned for Him thinking that He had gone over the top.

His mother and brothers came to try talk Him out of His activities because of the political tension that His ministry was stirring up.

When Jesus was informed that his mother and brothers were waiting to speak to Him, He said to the one who brought the information that His mother and brothers and sisters were those who were following Him and who did the will of His Father in heaven.

The Lord Jesus was viewed as being out of His mind by His own family and those who follow Him can expect to bear the same burden especially those believers who convert from other religions or philosophies.

They are sometimes seen by their family and friends as having gone insane but this is a cross to carry that Jesus Himself bore.

Another reality revealed in this passage is that the kingdom of God is a family and all those who are obedient to its calling automatically become each other's brothers and sisters and also become siblings of Jesus Himself.

Amen.

4

OUR FATHER WHOSE SON WAS REJECTED BUT BECAME THE CHIEF CORNERSTONE

Having told the religious leaders (who were asking for a sign be shown to them) that they were out of step with the calendar of God's plan, the Lord Jesus informed them that they would thus be condemned by people out of history who had grappled with far less knowledge than they had in search of God's mercy and wisdom.

Then Jesus, in an unusual fashion, used a parable based on a demonic spiritual reality to elucidate the condition of the generation that was not prepared to receive the Messiah who had been sent to them.

Matthew chapter 12 verse 43 - 45 tells of the journey of an evicted demon that returns to its original home and finding it cleaned and prepared for habitation, recruits other spirits and together, they invade the man and his condition is worse than before.  

43 “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. 44 Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. 45 Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.”

In the parable, the nation of Israel is the man and the demon is the religious and political status quo that had established itself in the society.

The plan of God was to bring salvation to Israel and then to the whole world and so preparation was made where the people were taught about the coming kingdom of God and the house is Israel was cleaned up to be ready for the Holy Spirit to inhabit. 

However, the kingdom of God was resisted by Israel and the  Messiah was killed leaving Israel available to be inhabited by their original usurping spirit alongside additional pathological conditions and this left Israel in worse shape that it was before.

As the scripture says; 

"So shall it also be with this wicked generation.”

The wicked generation that rejected the promised Messiah was going to suffer condemnation from history and be saddled with worse political and spiritual oppression than they were exposed to before.

Lord have mercy on us.

4

OUR FATHER WHOSE WAYS ARE PERFECT

From Psalm 119 - Beth

I sing to You my precious Lord

For in my heart I  hid Your word

Teach me  that I may always know

The narrow path on which to go

That on Your righteous road I stay

And from Your will I never stray

As I think of Your perfect way

I will delight in what You say

My Jesus, My Jesus,

There is none like You

There is no one else like You

Psalm 119 - Beth - 9 - 16

9 How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word.

10 I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands.

11 I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.

12 Praise be to you, Lord; teach me your decrees.

13 With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth.

14 I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches.

15 I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. 

16 I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.

OUR FATHER WHOSE SON WAS THE CHIEF CORNERSTONE THAT THE BUILDERS TURNED AWAY

The Lord Jesus spoke to the Pharisees about their blasphemy of the Holy Spirit and how their words would condemn them on the day of judgement and in response to the unbraiding they received, the discomfitted pharisees then felt that the hearsay stories of Jesus' miracles were not enough for them and so they wanted to see a miracle with their own eyes so that they could judge whether Jesus was worthy to school them the way He was.

38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.”

39 But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 

41 The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.

42 The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.

The answer Jesus gave to their request for a supernatural sign was an epic revelation of the momentous grandeur of the mission of salvation that He, the Messiah, had come to fulfill.

The pharisees' request for a sign was denied but they were alerted that there would be one pivotal sign that was available to them and that was the sign that the story of the prophet Jonah foreshadowed.

Just as Jonah went down into the depths of the sea in the belly of a great fish for three days and three nights before rising again, the Son of Man would descend into the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.

This sign, that was the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus, was the only sign that would be given to the evil and adulturous generation.

Unbeknownst to the pharisees, they were going to play a part in the events that the Lord Jesus was describing and the fact that that they missed the day of their visitation was going to be the basis for a historical condemnation against them.

Jonah went to Nineveh with no signs and yet upon his preaching, the whole city repented in ashes. In contrast, One far greater than Jonah had come to them with healing in His wings and that generation did not repent but instead demanded signs be performed before them.

The queen of Sheba is also going to condemn that generation because she arduosly travelled a great distance to come hear the wisdom  of Solomon and even though One greater than Solomon was among them teaching wisdom,  instead of troubling themselves to learn from Him, they demanded a sign.

All the figures of history who hungered and yearned for God on the basis of faint traces of the workings of the Spirit of God will rise up to condemn the generation that had the Son of God, powered by the Spirit of God, moving around in their midst.

Have mercy on us O God.

4

OUR FATHER TO WHOM JESUS WILL INTRODUCES US IF WE CONFESS JESUS BEFORE MEN

Matthew chapter 12 verses 33 - 37 records the continuation of the sharp reprimand that Jesus directed at the pharisees who were denegrating the work of God amoung the people. 

They had declared to the people that Jesus' ability to cast out demons stemmed from His cooperation with the kingdom of darkness.

Jesus immediately showed them that their claim was illogical and informed them of the terrible price they would pay for blaspheming the Holy Spirit.

In our passage, Jesus continued with the castigation of the Pharisees as follows;

33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. 34 Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. 36 But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. 37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Trees in the scriptures are frequently used a metaphors for kingdoms or administrative juridictions and here, Jesus tells the pharisees that their administrative jurisdiction is yielding bad fruit because they had made a bad tree.

In this case, the corruption of the tree the pharisees had made manifested itself as the bad fruit of illogical accusations against people.

Calling the pharisees a 'brood of vipers', Jesus was alluding to the poisonous threat that the pharisees and their illogical postures represented.

He told them that because they had cultivated evil things in their hearts, there was no surprise that evil things came out of their mouths because of the principle described by the Lord Jesus where good things automatically  come out of the heart of s good man while evil things flow out of the hearts of evil men.

The Lord also took away the possible excuse that the pharisees' words were just passing observation and opinions because he said that in the day of judgement, all men would accountable for every idle word they spoke during their lifetimes.

All the words a man spoke would be the basis upon which he was justified or he was condemned.

If a man used words to blaspheme the Holy Spirit, those words would apear in the transcript against him in the court of final judgement and it is these words that would seal his eternal state.

This principle also applies to the use of words to declare belief and trust in the Lord Jesus before other people for these words, appearing in the transcript of ones' life, are the basis for the introduction that Jesus will make between one of those who trusted Him and God the Father.

“Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.

Amen.

8

OUR FATHER WHOSE SPIRIT MUST NOT BE BLASPHEMED

The Lord Jesus, having just previously told the pharisees that those who were not with Him were against Him and those who were not gathering with Him were scattering, said this stern warning to them;

31 “Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. 32 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.

The pharisees found Jesus to be a potent rival for the hearts and minds of the people in the land of Israel and some of them began to plot how to get rid of Him so that they could hold onto their religious monopoly over the territory.

He was challenging the status quo in their understanding of the scripture and the kingdom of God was attesting to the validity of His ministry with astounding supernatural power and authority.

Jesus, in this passage, said that if the visceral reactions against Him out of envy or defensiveness caused the religious and political guard to speak against Him, these offences would be forgivable but, if they ventured beyond challenging Him and blashphemed the Holy Spirit who was the facilitator of the supernatural attestations of Jesus, they would have no pathway to forgiveness either in that time or in the time that was to come.

The pharisees, having attributed Jesus' ability to deliver people from demonic oppresion to the Beelzebub, had blasphemed the Holy Spirit who was the One who had powered the removal of the demons and the healing of the blind and mute.

The damning of the supernatural ministry of the Holy Spirit  is particularly aggrigeous because it undercuts the outreach that God Himself provides to stir up people's faith and by undermining this outreach, other people can be prevented from attaining a place of trust in God.

Even though there were some factions within the pharisaic order that began to take Jesus seriously like the one to which Nicodemus belonged to, the efforts of the particular pharisees who blasphemed the Holy Spirit, caused them to be excluded from ever reaching saving faith and for them, they were without remedy and in their unforgivable state, ended up pursuing the destruction of Jesus until they succeeded in having Him crucified.

Have mercy on us O God.

8

OUR FATHER'S KINGDOM IS AMONG US WHEN WE SEE THE KINGDOM OF SATAN BEING PLUNDERED 

Matthew chapter 12 verses 22 - 30 says this;

22 Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. 23 And all the multitudes were amazed and said, “Could this be the Son of David?”

24 Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, “This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.”

25 But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. 26 If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? 27 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. 28 But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29 Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house. 30 He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.

As the Lord Jesus ministered in healing and deliverance, His reputation grew among the people and they brought people with various afflictions for Him to restore.

On one occasion, a demonized man who was blind and mute was brought to Jesus and when Jesus healed him, the man could see and speak again and these kinds of astonishing miracles caused the multitudes of people to increase in their esteem of the Lord Jesus.

The existing religious establishment felt threatened by the ascendancy of Jesus in the minds of the people and one of the prongs that was used to try to discredit the Lord Jesus Christ was to ascribe His power to His collaboration with the king of the demons named Beelzebub.

Jesus detected the thinking of the pharisees and countered their conclusions by showing them that it was illogical.

He asked them how the kingdom of Satan could possibly stand if Jesus was undermining the kingdom Satan by the power of Satan.

How could Satan sponsor the destruction of his own kingdom and expect to sustain his kingdom?

Jesus then asked the pharisees by what power their own sons were casting out demons. If they were claiming that Jesus was doing so by the power of Satan, were not their own sons doing the same? Jesus warned the pharisees that their own sons would judge them for falsely claming that Jesus was casting out demons by the power of Satan.

Jesus pointed out to the pharisees that the more likely explanation of what was happening was that the demons were being evicted by the  Spirit of God which then clearly indicated that the kingdom of God was now in operation among them.

Jesus explained to the pharisees that in order to undermine the holdings of Satan, the owner of the holdings must be bound first and then one can enter and take what the strongman has secured for himself.

The Lord Jesus then revealed the polarized nature of existence where there is no neutral ground. Human beings are encamped in one kingdom or the other. If a person is not subscribed to the kingdom of God, one is automatically subscribed to the kingdom of darkness and subject to its mandates.

That is why Jesus said that if we are not aligned with Him, we are against Him because we are aligned with the kingdom of darkness by default..

If we are not actively working in His kingdom gathering in the harvest, we are, conciously or not, scattering that which is slated to be brought in with the harvest and we are undermining the kingdom of God. As verse 30 says;

He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.

Amen.

4

OUR FATHER WHOSE SON IS WONDERFULLY FORETOLD IN THE SCRIPTURES

Matthew chapter 12 verse 15 - 21 reads this way;

15 But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there. And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all. 16 Yet He warned them not to make Him known, 17 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:

18 “Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased! I will put My Spirit upon Him, And He will declare justice to the Gentiles.

19 He will not quarrel nor cry out, Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.

20 A bruised reed He will not break, And smoking flax He will not quench, Till He sends forth justice to victory; 21 And in His name Gentiles will trust.”

The establishment did not appreciate the challenge that the Lord Jesus represented to their religious dominance over the culture and began to consider ways to ruin Him.

Jesus, knowing their schemes, retreated from the towns and to avoid being tracked down by those who wanted to kill him, He warned His followers not to give away his location.

This was the fulfillment of the Isaiah chapter 42 verses 1 - 4 which fortells that our Father  in heaven would declare over Jesus His son that with Him, He was well pleased.

The Spirit of God would then be placed upon Him.

He would bring His justice to the gentiles.

He would retreat to isolated places so as to have a low profile and not end up in brawls with the pharisees.

Any tiny ember of faith held by a person would be protected by Jesus and the Lord would not do anything to quench the small flame of faith.

This gentle and delicate handling of those with  weak faith  would continue to be practiced by the Lord Jesus until He gained the final and great  victory for the kingdom of God and gentiles abandoned their pagan ways and trusted in Him.

Amen.

12.

OUR FATHER WHOSE SON RESCUED PEOPLE IN NEED EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK

Matthew chapter 12 verse 9 - 14 captures an amazing miracle performed by the Lord Jesus in the meeting place where religious people gathered.

Having just had a confrontation with religious leaders regarding the fact that His disciples were working on the Sabbath day picking grain to eat, the establishment figures began attempts  to entrap the Lord Jesus and so when He joined their Sabbath gathering, they asked Him a loaded question.

9 Now when He had departed from there, He went into their synagogue. 10 And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand. And they asked Him, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—that they might accuse Him.

11 Then He said to them, “What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? 12 Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” 13 Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other. 14 Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him.

The Lord invoked a principle where, in spite of the strict rules against working on the Sabbath, people in urgent situations like if theit sheep fell into a pit, they were permitted to reach out and grab the sheep to pull it to safety.

Jesus argued that if they felt that they could rescue animals on the Sabbath day, would it not be even more permisible to rescue human beings on a Sabbath day?

After asking the question, Jesus said to the man with the withered hand to stretch out his jand and in full view of the attendees, an amazing healing miracle occured and the man's hand was restored to the same condition as his healthy arm.

The religious leaders were offended by Jesus and they felt threatened by His accumen and so they put their heads together to plan how to destroy Jesus.

These plots ultimately culminated in the arrest and killing of the Lord Jesus Christ.

8

OUR FATHER WHO MADE THE SABBATH FOR MAN AND NOT MAN FOR THE SABBATH

Matthew chapter 12 starts off with a confrontation between Jesus' disciples and the religious leaders of the time. 

What the religious leaders were objecting to was that the disciples were plucking the heads of grain to eat from grainfields even though this was disallowed on the Sabbath day of rest.

The complaint was taken to Jesus as an accusation against His followers for breaking the Sabbath. Verses 1 - 8 reads like this;

1 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. 

2 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!”

3 But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: 4 how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? 5 Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless? 

6 Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple. 7 But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. 8 For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

The Lord Jesus immediately turned to the scriptures to invalidate the charges of the pharisees against His people.

He referenced three scriptures to show the religious leaders that their contention was in error. 

Firstly, Jesus showed them that it was not unlawful to eat anything if a person was hungry,  where even temple bread, which was restricted and could only be eaten by priests in the temple of God, was eaten by David and his men when they were hungry.

Secondly, their contention that working on the Sabbath was unlawful was contradicted by the fact that the priests in the temple worked through the Sabbath and yet were not in contravention of the Sabbath. Jesus argued that if priests serving the temple could work on the Sabbath without breaking the law, how much more could Jesus' followers work on the  Sabbath when they were directly serving the One who was greater than the temple.

Thirdly, Jesus scolded the pharisees because of their haste to indict His followers of wrongdoing when the scriptures clearly taught that God desired mercy over sacrifice. To falsely accuse the servants of the Lord of the Sabbath of breaking the Sabbath  to the Lord of the Sabbath Himself was an aggriegious error by the religious leaders.

Amen.

4

4

OUR FATHER WHOSE SON INVITES US TO HIMSELF

In the concluding verses of Matthew chapter 11, Jesus, having set an exceedingly high code of moral conduct for those who wish to operate in the kingdom of God, assures the people that no matter how difficult achieving these things seem to be, anyone who comes to Him would find rest for their souls because He is gentle and lowly in heart and the demands He places on those who go to Him are easy and the responsibilities he gives them are light.

28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

The standards of the kingdom of God set be Jesus in this chapter and the preceeding chapter are far above our capacity to fulfill them but Jesus nonetheless says that they are achievable because, if we full heartedly pursue the kingdom, God Himself intervenes to help us to attain these standards by giving us everything we need to do so as Mathew chapter 6 verse 33 says;

33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Amen.

2

OUR FATHER WHO KNOWS THE END FROM THE BEGINNING

Nov 4th 2024, the progression of prophecy lands on verse 4 of Isaiah chapter 19. 

The enemy of our souls will try to shore up His failing operations and will the whole organization will be given into the hands of a harsh and cruel leader.

1 The burden against Egypt. Behold, the Lord rides on a swift cloud, And will come into Egypt; The idols of Egypt will totter at His presence, And the heart of Egypt will melt in its midst.

2 “I will set Egyptians against Egyptians; Everyone will fight against his brother, And everyone against his neighbor, City against city, kingdom against kingdom.

3 The spirit of Egypt will fail in its midst; I will destroy their counsel, And they will consult the idols and the charmers, The mediums and the sorcerers.

4 And the Egyptians I will give Into the hand of a cruel master, And a fierce king will rule over them,” Says the Lord, the Lord of hosts.

5 The waters will fail from the sea, And the river will be wasted and dried up.

6 The rivers will turn foul; The brooks of defense will be emptied and dried up; The reeds and rushes will wither.

7 The papyrus reeds by the River, by the mouth of the River, And everything sown by the River, Will wither, be driven away, and be no more.

8 The fishermen also will mourn; All those will lament who cast hooks into the River, And they will languish who spread nets on the waters.

9 Moreover those who work in fine flax And those who weave fine fabric will be ashamed;

10 And its foundations will be broken. All who make wages will be troubled of soul.

11 Surely the princes of Zoan are fools; Pharaoh’s wise counselors give foolish counsel. How do you say to Pharaoh, “I am the son of the wise, The son of ancient kings?”

12 Where are they? Where are your wise men?

Let them tell you now, And let them know what the Lord of hosts has purposed against Egypt.

13 The princes of Zoan have become fools; The princes of Noph are deceived; They have also deluded Egypt, Those who are the mainstay of its tribes.

14 The Lord has mingled a perverse spirit in her midst; And they have caused Egypt to err in all her work, As a drunken man staggers in his vomit.

15 Neither will there be any work for Egypt, Which the head or tail, Palm branch or bulrush, may do.

4

OUR FATHER IS ONLY KNOWN BY THE SON OF GOD AND THOSE TO WHOM THE SON REVEALS HIM TO

Mathew chapter 11 continues in verses 25 - 27 where Jesus, having explained the hazards of having the truth presented to people who then reject it, continues on to thank God the Father for His strategy of concealing the great mysteries of the kingdom of God  from the elite people of society but revealing  them to the unsophisticated people. 

The access gates into the knowledge of the kingdom of God are regulated by criteria set by the Father and the societal uppercrust is automatically screened out and only by exceptional intervention of God are any people from these higher strata let into the fold. This is why Jesus said in Mark chapter 10 verse 25, that it was harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God than a camel to go through the eye of a needle and that all things are possible with God if exceptions were needed.

25 At that time Jesus answered and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes. 26 Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight. 27 All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. 

The Lord Jesus then reveals more gates that regulate access into the kingdom of God.

Jesus has been given all things pertaining to the administration of the kingdom of God and at that point in time, Jesus' status as the Son of God was only known by the Father. In the same way, the Father was only known by Jesus the Son of God.

The knowledge of the Father is revealed only to those who Jesus, by His own authority, choses to reveal Him to and thus, the access gates to the knowledge of the kingdom of God are generally regulated by the restrictions placed on the  elite and then more specically, by those whom Jesus hand-picks to have access to that knowledge.

Amen.

2

OUR FATHER WHOSE JUDGEMENT IS COMMENSURATE WITH REVELATION

Having just spoken to the people about their propensity for rejecting the servants of God who were sent to them, Jesus, in Matthew chapter 11 verses 20 - 24, rebuked the cities in which He had done great miracles and yet had found excuses not to turn back to God.

20 Then He began to rebuke the cities in which most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent: 21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. 23 And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you.”

In this passage, the Lord Jesus revealed the operation of a relative scale of judgement in the kingdom of heaven that is pegged to the level of investment that is sunk into the territory for the redemption of its people.

Tougher measures of judgement were allotted to the cities in which many great signs were done for them to witness and yet did not repent and turn to God.

The cities in the time of Jesus like Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum, had been visited by Jesus and great miracles had been performed there but instead of taking the miracles as gracious invitations to repent, these cities judged and scandalized Jesus for doing miracles on the Sabbath day and for eating and drinking and associating with outcasts. They formulated excuses to diminish the significance of the message that was brought to them.

As a case study, Capernaum, a city near the sea of Galilee, had these miracles, among many others, occur within its vicinity;

• Healing of the man with the withered arm
• Healing of the woman with the issue of blood
• Raising of Jairus' daughter from the dead
• Delivering a demoniac in the synagogue
• Healing of Peter's mother-in-law
• Healing of many people who came for help

Because of the many miracles that occured there, the Lord Jesus singled out the city of Capernaum as an example of a city that would suffer great judgement.

He had chosen Capernaum to be the epicenter of His ministry which elevated it in prominence before heaven and yet it would fall into Hades because the people did not repent inspite of all the miracles that were performed there.

Jesus compared the city of Capernaum to the ancient city of Sodom saying that Sodom, a lawless city in the time of Abraham, would have repented and been spared from destruction if the people had seen the same miracles that the people of Capernaum had seen.

The opposite end of this sliding scale represents the people who, with almost no leading and no attesting miracles, repented of their sins and cried out to God for mercy. 

The city of Niniveh, for example, had a reluctant prophet named Jonah sent to them  and he merely crossed from one end of the city to the other warning of a coming judgement and yet, in response,  the whole city, including the king and the animals, were cloaked in sackcloth and ashes and they repented for their sins before God.

Mercy was shown to Ninevah on account of their unreserved reaction to the lean presentation by Jonah.

This sliding scale of judgement can be manipulated by regulating the amount of revelation that the people are exposed to.

Mark chapter 4 verses 11 - 12 captures this in action where Jesus explains to His disciples why He spoke in parables;

11 And He said to them, “To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables, 12 so that ‘Seeing they may see and not perceive, And hearing they may hear and not understand; Lest they should turn, And their sins be forgiven them.’ ”

The disciples were in the kingdom and it was for them that the mysteries were revealed but for those outside the kingdom, these mysteries are hidden in parables lest they understand and turn and their sins are forgiven.

If, however, they receive the greater understanding and do not repent, they are subject to greater judgement and would have been better off not being exposed to the knowledge prescribed for those already in the kingdom of God.

Amen.

4

OUR FATHER WHO SENT HIS PROPHETS BUT THE PEOPLE FOUND EXCUSES TO DISREGARD THEM

The Lord Jesus, continuing His explanation of John the Baptist's ministry in Matthew chapter 11 verses 16 - 19, said this;

16 “But to what shall I liken this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their companions, 17 and saying:

‘We played the flute for you, And you did not dance; We mourned to you, And you did not lament.’

18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is justified by her children.”

The Lord commented on the state of the society and its leaders at the time of John the Baptist and the Messiah.

The scoffing and cynical status quo had two citizens of heaven arrive in rapid succession with opposite modes of operation.

John conducted his ministry in a mournful mode codified by reclusion and fasting. The establishment, finding this to be too austere, labled John a demonniac as a way of denigrating and dismissing him.

On the other hand, Jesus conducted His ministry in a celebratory mode codified by sharing in food and drink and by gathering with people from all sectors of the society.

For Him, the establishment gave the labels of glutton, drunkard and associate of outcasts.

In current parlance, we would use the idiom  'damned if you do, damned if you don't' to describe the establishment's critical attacks on any person who was sent to them proclaiming a standard of righteousness that was not welcome. No matter how the messengers approached and how they presented themselves, their message was always rejected.

Jesus compared this conduct by the leaders of the society to the silly games that children played in the market place where some of them would not cooperate and join in no matter what form of activty was initiated. This would prompt calls by the kids (who wanted to engage everyone in play) to say;

‘We played the flute for you, And you did not dance; We mourned to you, And you did not lament.’

The Lord concluded His commentary on the stance of the society by saying that wisdom is justified by her children.

If wisdom is used, the validity of the wisdom is vindicated by the results it yields.

Whether or not  rejecting the message from heaven was wisdom would be evident in the day of judgement. As Psalm 37 verse 6 says;

He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun.

Amen.

8

OUR FATHER WHO SENT A PROPHET TO PREPARE THE WAY BEFORE THE MESSIAH

When John's followers left to take the Lord's message back to John, the Lord Jesus taught the people about John the Baptist and the significance of his ministry and the sea change that had occured since his arrival.

Matthew chapter 11 verses 7 - 15 says it this way;

7 As they departed, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 8 But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. 9 But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet. 10 For this is he of whom it is written:

‘Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.’

11 “Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. 13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. 14 And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come. 15 He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

Jesus asked the group of people around Him what had attracted them out to the wilderness when John was preaching there.

The Lord answered for them and told them that they had gone out to the wilderness because John was a genuine prophet from God speaking with authority and conviction.

The Lord then told them that John was a greater prophet than all other prophets prior to him but in the spiritual  kingdom that Jesus Himself was instituting in earth, the lowest ranking member would be greater than John.

The comparison reflects how momentous Jesus' own mission was because it was bringing in a system of salvation that was so great that the nothing that came before it, even with all the glory that it had, could match it.

Since John started preaching, the Kingdom of Heaven, reaching down to get a foothold on the earth, was suffering a violent counterattack as the agents of darkness were being promted to strike at it in order to snuff it out.

Whereas Moses and the prophets were prophesying into the future about the coming kingdom of heaven, John was the old covenant prophet who actually came into contact with the kingdom of heaven and was no longer prophecying but contending for the platform on which the Messiah would be presented.

John was the warrior prophet in the order of Elijah who was prophesied about and had now come and had plunged into the battle for righteousness headlong for which he was now imprisoned.

Amen.

1

OUR FATHER WHO SENT HIS ONLY SON TO SAVE US AND THERE IS NONE OTHER TO EXPECT

The Lord Jesus, having completed issueing His instructions and guidance to His followers on the side of the mountain, left from that area and began moving through the territory preaching the good news of the kingdom of God. 

As Jesus travelled, John the Baptist ( who was in prison ), heard of Jesus' activities. 

John was perplexed by the variance between what He thought the promised Messiah whom He had  heralded would usher in and what he was actually hearing while in prison.

John believed that the Messiah would come as a conquering king who would deliver Israel out of the hands of the Romans and bring the rulership of the God of Israel to the whole earth.

What was happening instead was that he himself was imprisoned and Israel was still under the control of the Romans with no sign of abatement.

John, as delicately as he could, sent two of his disciples to ask Jesus a question.

1 Now it came to pass, when Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples, that He departed from there to teach and to preach in their cities.

2 And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples     3 and said to Him, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?”

4 Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: 5 The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. 6 And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.”

The question John asked stemmed from the conflict that John felt over the fact that he had, with certainty, identified Jesus as the promised Messiah when Jesus arrived at the Jordan river to be baptized and yet John found himself languishing in prison and no great political earthquakes were occuring in the country since that day.

 “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?”

When Jesus was asked this question, He recognized the cause of John's internal conflict as a misunderstanding of the progression of events that were to transpire once the Coming One was identified.

Jesus told the messengers to watch the miracle services he was conducting and witness with their own eyes that He was indeed doing what was prophesied in the book of Isaiah chapter 35 verse 5 - 6 which foretold of coming time when these things would occur when the arrival of the reign of Zion would draw God's people and they would experience supernatural interventions. 

5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. 6 Then the lame shall leap like a deer, And the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, And streams in the desert.

The Lord sent a message back to John to assure him that all his toil was not in vain and that the program was proceeding exactly as prophecied even though it was not playing out as expected.

The Lord added that there is a blessing that stems from not being offended by the unexpected manifestations of the Lord's agenda and from a willingness to dump our own tightly held orthodoxies in the face of new revelation from the scriptures.

Amen.

8

OUR FATHER WHO REWARDS THOSE WHO RECIEVE HIS PEOPLE 

Reaching the end of Matthew chapter 10, we examine verses 40 - 42 that describes an  economy of renumeration that operates in the kingdom of God.

40 “He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. 41 He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward. And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. 42 And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.”

The Lord Jesus tells His disciples that if a person recieves them and in accepting them,  provides hospitality for them, that person's response is registered as a direct gesture of acceptance towards the Lord Jesus and towards the Father.

An example of this economy of direct action towards God being achieved by actions towards His disciples can  be found in the book of Acts chapter 9 verse 4 where the Lord confronts Saul;

Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”

In this case, Saul's harsh actions towards the Lord's followers were transmitting directly to Jesus such that He asked Saul why he was persecuting Him.

Verse 41 enigmatically describes a system of gradation of renumeration that is predicated on the ranking of the person to whom a gesture of a acceptance is made.

If a person hospitably receives a prophet having been identified himself as a prophet, the person shall receive a prophet's reward and likewise for a righteous man.

The nature of the rewards for prophets and righteous men is not explained in the context but, inferring from other biblical contexts, coming alongside a prophet or a righteous man to aid them and facilitate they work results in their mantles being conferred upon the host in the way that Elija's mantle was conferred upon Elisha and Moses' mantle conferred upon Joshua.

Verse 42, in buttressing the principles of verse 41, asserts that even a tiny gesture like a person offering a cup of cold water to one of Jesus'  followers  who identifies himself as a disciple, that person shall never lose the commensurate reward.

This affirms the granularity of the kingdom of God's tracking system. In a realm where every hair on a person's head is numbered, each miniscule act of favour upon the Lord's servants is transmitted all the way to God and will not be forgotten at the time that rewards are issued.

Amen.

2

OUR FATHER WHOSE KINGDOM IS IN OPPOSITION TO THE THINGS OF THIS WORLD

The Lord Jesus, in Matthew chapter 10 verses 34 - 39, continues delving into the heavy spiritual principles that are at work when a person seeks to participate in the kingdom of God.

34 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. 35 For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’;      36 and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ 

37 He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38 And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.

The conditions that will surround a person when they commit themselves to the kingdom of God include these listed here;

• No peace while on the earth but battle
• Division between fathers and sons
• Division between mothers and daughters
• Division between inlaws
• Opposition from ones' own household

The Lord explained to His followers that the pursuit of the kingdom of God requires that the kings of the kingdom of God be their highest priority.

Membership in the kingdom of God requires that the love of parents and children be displaced by the love for the King of the kingdom of God or else, one would be disqualified.

Similarly, if a person aspiring to the kingdom of God does not bear the burdens of persecution and hazards of membership in the kingdom, they would be disqualified.

The kingdom of God is an exacting domain and its mission on earth is a pitched battle against the kingdom of darkness that by definition is lawless and cruel.

Where those in the kingdom of God come into contact with the world and the kingdom of darkness, a clash of civilizations erupts and thus the followers of Jesus are advised to be prepared to endure these conditions of conflict.

The Lord completes the laying the groundwork for the concept of spiritual conflict with an axiomatic principle in verse 39; 

He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.

When operating in the kingdom of God and serving its King, a person who in the face of danger tries to preserve his own life, will instead lose it while the person who relinquishes his life for the King of the kingdom of God, will gain his life.

Amen.

12

OUR FATHER WHO KNOWS WHEN EVERY SPARROW FALLS 

The Lord Jesus, teaching His disciples in Mathew chapter 10 verses 27 - 33, teaches the mode of transmission that will be used in the dissemination of the goods news of the kingdom of God  in the light of the fierce resistance they will face.

In their secret places of prayer, they would receive the messages from Jesus that they would then proclaim in the open. 

And even in the hostile environment, they were not to fear the response of their detractors who could only kill the body and not the soul. Rather than fear men, the Lord told them that they should fear God who could destroy the body and soul in hell.

27 “Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops. 28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. 30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

32 “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. 33 But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.

The Lord informed His followers that the Father knows when every sparrow falls even though they could be bought at the market for almost nothing. If the Father tracks the life of each sparrow, how much more does He track the life of those who trust in Him? 

The Lord adds that the Father knows so much about each of us that every hair on our heads are numbered by him.

This matches verse 17 of Psalm 139 which says in the NIV;

How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered!

In light of the opposition they would face carrying the good news of the kingdom and in the light of the direct and personal interest that the Father has in each of them, the Lord Jesus then charges His followers to publicly identify with him.

This association with Jesus, even when it is hazardous to His followers, is what formally registers before the Father that the believer is in Jesus and thus can be inducted into kingdom matters by the Father.

Amen.

10

OUR FATHER WHOSE SON ENDURED PERSECUTION FOR THE SAKE OF THOSE BEING SAVED

Continuing with the preparation of His disciples for the reality of their mission, the Lord Jesus, in Mathew chapter  10 verses 21 - 26 explained the severity of the blowback they would encounter as they undertook the spreading of the gospel.

21 “Now brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. 22 And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved. 23 When they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly, I say to you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

24 “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. 25 It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household! 26 Therefore do not fear them. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.

The introduction to the gospel brings such stark divisions into any society such that even brothers hand their brothers over to inquisitors and fathers betray their children and children turn in their own parents to be executed.

Citizens of the kingdom of darkness will respond with revulsion to the announcement of the arrival of the kingdom of light and the messengers of the kingdom will be hated and hunted but the Lord tells his followers that those who suffer persecution and pressure without surrendering their faith even unto death will be saved.

The Lord Jesus gives them a pattern to follow when navigating the gauntlet of spreading the gospel as sheep among wolves. If persecution mounts in one city, move to the next and continue the mission there. The Lord assures His followers that they would not exhaust the available cities to flee to before the Son of Man appears.

The disciples were taught that students are not above their teacher and therefore, if their teacher is subjected to insults and denegrations, the students would be favoured to be equal to their teacher in this regard.

The Lord told His disciples not to fear those who seek to harm them because of the gospel because all things done in darkness will be revealed to all and the things that are concealed will be laid bare

Amen.

2

OUR FATHER  WHOSE SPIRIT WILL GIVE US THE WORDS TO SPEAK WHEN WE ARE DRAGGED BEFORE KINGS

The Lord Jesus, having explained to His disciples mission to which He was commisioning them, laid out for them the hazards they would face but assured them that even in the face of religious violence and political oppression, they would be under the care of the Spirit of God and He would provide everything they required including the words they needed to speak before the councils, governors and kings.

16 “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. 17 But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues. 18 You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. 19 But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; 20 for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.

The metaphor the Lord gave to illustrate the nature of their mission was the image of sending sheep out on a mission among wolves.

The sheep would be approaching wolves in their dens to offer them the good news of the kingdom but to the wolves, the sheep would be seen vulnerable prey and so Jesus advised the disciples to be as cunning as serpents and as harmless as doves. They were to be wary of men and understand that the message of the kingdom of God they were bringing would, in some cases, stir up harsh reactions against them.

In the heated atmosphere of persecution and the attempt to suppress their message, the Lord told them not to worry about trying to cobble together verbal defences and explanations but rather, the Holy Spirit would furnish them with what to say and how to say it on the fly.

Amen.

8

OUR FATHER WHO OFFERS SALVATION TO THOSE WHO WOULD WILLINGLY ACCEPT IT

The Lord's instructions to His disciples continued in Matthew chapter 10 verses 11 - 15 with guidance on how to interact with jusrisdictions they came to in their travels.

11 “Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out. 12 And when you go into a household, greet it. 13 If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14 And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet. 15 Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!

These were the observances given to the disciples when they arrived at a settlement;

• Ask around for who could host them
• Once accepted, remain in that dwelling
• When entering the household, greet it
• If worthy, let peace be on it
• If not worthy, retract peace
• If rejected, shake the dust from the feet

When arriving at a city or town to bring the news of the kingdom, the disciples would need a place to stay for the duration of their mission.

They were to ask about a place to stay and when a person accepted to host them, that person was a worthy person. Even if it were a humble household, their hospitality towards God's people would make them worthy.

The disciples were instructed to remain at the house that first welcomed them because after they began ministering and the miraculous power they carried became known, the people of the settlement would start vying to host them to gain proximity to the ministers.

The ones who accepted them first were the ones the Lord wanted to have the priviledge of hosting them for the duration of their stay.

When they were ministering from door to door, they were to greet each household and if their greeting was received, then the peace and goodwill of the disciples could be placed upon that household. If the household reacted negatively to the greeting, the disciples could rescind their peace and goodwill and proceed to the next house.

These steps sifted for the people to whom the good news of the kingdom would be delivered to.

The towns that refused to recieve the carriers of the message or refused to heed their words were going to be subject to a harsher judgement than Sodom and Gomorrah because a message of goodwill and peace was offered to them and they rejected it while that offer was not made to Sodom and Gomorrah and yet they were judged.

Amen.

12

OUR FATHER WHO PROVIDES ALL WE HAVE NEED OF IF WE SEEK FIRST HIS KINGDOM AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS

Having given His disciples the power to heal the sick and cast our demons, the Lord Jesus, in the next section (Matthew chapter 10 verses 5 - 10), instructs them to go out into the territory.

They were only to go the towns of children of Israel and avoid the gentile and Samaritan  towns because their turn to hear the good news of God's salvation would come after the Lord had accomplished the salvation for the whole world by the sacrifice of His life for us.

5 These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. 6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. 9 Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts, 10 nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food.

The actions they were to undertake were these;

• Preach that the kingdom of heaven was here
• Heal the sick
• Cleanse the lepers
• Raise the dead
• Cast out demons

Having been given the power at no cost, the disciples were to dispense the blessings on the people at no cost. The Lord instructed them to travel very light as per these guidelines;

• Take no valuables as reserves
• Carry no luggage
• No spare jackets
• No spare footware
• No walking aids or defense implements

In these exercises, the disciples were learning how to undertake these missions with total trust and faith in God's oversight over the missions he sent them on.  As workers, they were worthy of their food and would be provided for by God.

They did not need reserves for money nor clothing or even for self-defense. The Lord would provide all they had need of while they were out in territory to which He had sent them.

As Jesus said in Matthew chapter 6 verse 33,

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Amen.

2