Scripture

“Then the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all enter the person and live there. And so that person is worse off than before.”

Observation

Some teachers of the law, together with some Pharisees, come to Jesus and demand a sign to prove his authority. Jesus rebuke them, saying that only an evil and adulterous generation would demand a sign.

He goes on to say that Nineveh and the Queen of Sheba will condemn these people on Judgement Day, because they have refused to listen to Him.

When an evil spirit leaves a person, it goes into the wilderness and eventually returns to the person it came from. It finds them empty and swept clean, so it goes and invites seven other spirits to join it. So the person is worse off than before.

Application

Evil spirits are real, and their ability to enter people’s lives is also real.

Jesus has given his followers authority over all demons. With a simple command spoken in faith, a Spirit-filled Christian can remove evil spirits.

But Jesus warns us that an empty person is a rich target for a person who is exorcised but does not have saving faith. This is because they have nothing to fill the space left by the departing demons. Unless the person receives salvation, and therefore the Holy Spirit, these demons may return and bring friends.

The ministry of deliverance is very powerful, but it must be used with great wisdom.

Satan is a vanquished foe, but he will use every tactic to consolidate his hold on people.

James says, “Submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

Prayer

Lord Jesus, I rejoice that you have won the victory over satan. Please help me to discern evil spirits and act with your wisdom. Amen.

Scripture

“So I tell you, every sin and blasphemy can be forgiven except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit which will never be forgiven.”

Observation

Jesus continues his rebuke against the Pharisees.

Every sin can be forgiven except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. People who speak against Jesus may be forgiven, but not those who blaspheme against the Holy Spirit.

A good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit. The fruit of the Pharisees is bad because their hearts are bad.

A good person produces good things from the goodness in their heart. Everyone will give an account on Judgement Day for every word, good or bad.

Application

Many Christians have been anxious about the unforgivable sin and whether or not they may have committed it. Well, if you are concerned about whether you are guilty of this sin, it is almost certain that you are not guilty. The anxiety itself is a sign of a heart that is seeking after God.

The context of this saying of Jesus is important. He is talking to the Pharisees in response to their claim that Jesus is doing ministry, including miracles, under the power of satan.

Where people are so trapped into a false religious dogma that they attribute the works of God to satan, then they are in danger of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.

This sin is unforgivable because people who have sunk to this level of depraved confusion will not recognise the conviction of sin that the Holy Spirit brings to us.

Self-righteousness blocks God’s righteousness from entering our lives and condemns us to hell.

Prayer

Jesus, please protect me from every form of religious thinking that deflects your grace. Amen.

Scripture

“If I am casting out demons by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God has arrived among you.”

Observation

A demonised man who could neither speak nor see is brought to Jesus. Jesus heals the man. The crowd is amazed and asks if Jesus is the Messiah, but the Pharisees say that Jesus get his power from satan.

Jesus responds by saying that if satan is casting out satan then satan is divided and will not survive. But if Jesus is casting out demons by the power of God, it is a sign that the kingdom of God is here.

Anyone who is working with Jesus is opposing Him and actually working against Him.

Application

When Jesus casts out demons, it is a sign that the Kingdom of God is here. It is the Holy Spirit at work.

Some Christians are sceptical of the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the existence of demons. They have been infected by the spirit of the age, that is, unbelief.

When people are so committed to a theology of scepticism that they cannot recognise that theHoly Spirit is at work, it raises the issue of whether they are really saved and born again.

I have seen people wonderfully set free from the domination of the evil one. This liberation or deliverance is truly of God.

God’s Kingdom is much more powerful than satan’s kingdom. Even the most addicted, broken, or evil of people can be transformed in a minute by the gospel of Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit.

Prayer

Hallelujah! Lord, you are greater than the devil, more powerful than the strongest of demons. Please protect me from the evil one today in all that I do. Amen.

Scripture

“His name will be the hope of the world.”

Observation

Jesus knows that the Pharisees are plotting to kill him, so he leaves that area. He heals all the sick people, but He tells them not to reveal that He is the Messiah.

The prophet Isaiah had said, “Look at my servant. He is my beloved. I will put my Spirit upon him. He will not fight or shout. His name will be the hope of the world.”

Application

The name of Jesus is the hope of the world.

We are living through a time of cultural upheavals. People in places of influence want to overturn the traditions and institutions that have shaped and served this country in order to bring in new ideas, new values, new ways. Above all, they want to do away with any sense of fidelity to God.

The nations are in chaos and falling further into deep darkness. There is only one name that can bring hope at a time such as this, the name of Jesus.

As christians, we need to put our own trust in Jesus. We can be very conflicted about this at times. The world offers very tempting distractions. So we need to make sure that our hope, our reason for living, is centred totally on Jesus.

We also need to let others know that there is hope to be found in Jesus. Even people who do not follow Jesus can be very disturbed by events that seemed meaningless.

Jesus is the hope of every nation, of every family and every individual who will receive Him.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, I praise your Holy Name. Thank you for giving me living hope. Please help me to trust in you and to encourage my friends to trust you also. Amen.

Scripture

“For the Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath.”

Observation

Jesus and His disciples are walking through the fields on the Sabbath. As they are feeling hungry, some of them break off some heads of grain to eat them.

The Pharisees accuse the disciples of breaking the Law by harvesting on the Sabbath. Jesus points out that David broke the law on one occasion, and the priests break the law by ministering on the Sabbath. He goes on to say that God wants mercy not just sacrifices. The Son of Man is Lord, even of the Sabbath.

Jesus goes on to heal a man with a deformed hand. The Pharisees start planning how to kill Him.

Application

To say that Jesus is Lord is to acknowledge that he is Lord over all things in our lives.

Jesus is Lord over even our religious ideas about how God should be worshipped.

There is always room to show love to someone, even at the risk of offending legalistic religious people .

We can sway between extremes of always ignoring needs that take us away from church or home group, or always looking for opportunities to skip church in favour of “doing good.”

In holding these things together, we really do acknowledge the lordship of Christ.

Prayer

Please help me Lord to always be faithful to you in every part of my life. Amen.

Scripture

“My yoke is easy to bear, and my burden is light.”

Observation

Jesus denounces the towns where He worked many miracles, but people have not repented of their sins. Places such as Sodom would have repented of their sins, but the people of Caesarea, Chorazin, and Bethsaida did not. Therefore, these people will be judged, and they will not see God’s Kingdom.

Jesus prays, thanking God that He has hidden the way of salvation from those who think they are clever, but revealed it to the humble people.

Jesus invites people to come to Him who are weary or heavily burdened. We should take up His yoke and His burden, for they are easy to bear.

Application

Jesus gives us a way of living for God that is free of the burden of law. Every religion is based on rules and regulations. We must do certain things to please God and avoid other things that make God angry.

The problem with the law is that it tells you what to do and then condemns you when you fail. But the grace of God encourages you to do what is right, empowers you to do it, and forgives you when you fail.

This is the burden of Christ. This is the yoke that is easy to bear.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, I thank you for your for your easy yoke and light burden.You have placed in me a desire to please you because of your love and not from fear. Amen.

Scripture

“From the time John the Baptist began preaching until now, the Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing, and violent people are attacking it.”

Observation

Jesus says that John the Baptist was the greatest person that ever lived, but the least person in God’s Kingdom is greater than him. The Kingdom of Heaven is advancing forcefully, but violent people are trying to attack it.

John is the Elijah foretold by the prophets. The people rejected John’s message because he did not engage in eating and drinking. But the same people criticise Jesus, accusing Him of being a glutton and a drunkard.

Application

The Kingdom of Heaven is forcefully advancing, and forceful people are laying hold of it.

There are two ways of interpreting the Greek of this verse .

The translators of the New Living Translation have opted for the negative interpretation that violent people are attacking the Kingdom in its inexorable growth, trying to stop it.

Another interpretation is that violent or forceful people can gain entrance into the Kingdom by being bold.

The truth is that both versions are true. Wherever the gospel has been preached, people have tried to destroy God’s work. This is sometimes through violence and persecution, and at other times through undermining and ridicule. But the Kingdom of God advances to every part of the world.

Opposition to those who believe in Jesus is inevitable. They crucified Jesus, so why would His disciples expect any other response?

The Kingdom of God is growing everywhere. The followers of Jesus are, as people say, on the right side of history.

Prayer

Thank you Lord for the knowledge that your Kingdom is advancing, that more and more people are following you. Amen.

Scripture

“Are you the Messiah we have been expecting or should we keep looking for someone else?”

Observation

Jesus sends out His disciples and goes around the towns in that region Himself preaching and teaching.

John the Baptist is in prison. He sends some of his followers to ask if Jesus is the Messiah, or whether they should look for another. Jesus tells him that His ministry is validated by people being healed, the dead are raised, and the Good News is being preached to the poor .

Jesus then asks the crowd what they expected to see in John. He is a prophet but more than a prophet; he is the one who prepared the way for the Messiah.

Application

The question every single person has to answer is the question John asked: “Is Jesus the Messiah, that is the Son of God, or not?”

The answer we give to that question determines our life’s direction and our eternal destiny.

Jesus says that whoever confesses that He is Lord will be saved, but those who deny that He is Lord will be condemned to the fire of hell.

If we acknowledge that Jesus is Lord, then He has the right to command every part of our lives. To say, “Jesus is my lord,” means that I am not Lord, nor is any other power that would seek to control my life. I must yield to Jesus in all things.

Prayer

Jesus, I declare that you are Lord of my life. Thank you for saving me. I pledge myself to follow you and to obey you in all things. Amen.

Scripture

“Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But everyone who denies me here on Earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven.”

Observation

Jesus warns that those who acknowledge him here on earth, he will acknowledge before his Father in heaven, but those who deny Him, he will also deny.

Jesus did not come to bring peace to the earth but conflict. Families are divided and a person’s enemy will be found in their own household.

We must love Jesus more than we love our own family.

Those who receive the disciples receive the Father. Those who receive a prophet will receive the reward of the prophet. Anyone who offers even a cup of water to a follower of Jesus will receive a reward from the Father.

Application

This section is all about loving Jesus above all things – family, friends, life itself.

All followers of Jesus must declare their faith publicly. Often this is done at baptism, but we need to be open about our faith in our daily life.

If we try to leave as “secret agents” in God’s Kingdom, then Christ will not acknowledge us as his followers on the Day of Judgement.

We are all made differently, with different gifts. Some of us are called to be preachers, others Hollywood celebrities, still others to be quiet workers in the community or at home. We all need to make sure that, regardless of our calling and personality, the people we influence know that we love the Lord.

Prayer

Lord, these words are confronting. Please help me to be public with my faith, and advocate for you in a world that is opposed to you. Amen.

Scripture

“Do not be afraid of those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”

Observation

Families will be split apart by the preaching of the gospel. We will be hated by all people because of Christ. But those who stand firm to the end will be saved.

The head of the house is called Beelzebub, so how much more will the followers face opposition?

We must not be afraid of people, who can kill the body but not the soul. Rather, we must be afraid of the Father, who can destroy both body and soul in hell.

Application

Jesus was persecuted by religious leaders, and so we too should expect opposition at the hands of people.

Christians are the most persecuted people in the world. We have a false sense of what life is like because the church in the West has been a dominant part of culture for many centuries. Yet, for people in parts of Asia and Africa, becoming a Christian means to sign up for imprisonment, alienation from family, torture, or death.

When people oppose us because of our faith, we must stand firm. The most they can do is destroy our body. But if we break under the pressure and deny Christ, then we may face eternity in hell separated from Him.

So we must stand firm and endure to the end, even when following Jesus seems to make life difficult.

Prayer

Lord, please help my brothers and sisters for whom living for you brings severe persecution. Please help them to remain steadfast in their faith. Amen.