Scripture

“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.”

Observation

People’s failure to understand Jesus is a fulfilment of Isaiah’s prophecy. Their hearts are hard, their ears cannot hear, nor their eyes see.

Jesus goes on to explain that the seeds in the parable represent people and their response to the gospel. Some have hard hearts and so the seed is quickly stolen by the devil. Some hear the message, but their acceptance of it lasts only a short time until problems come. Others are choked off by the cares of the world.

The seed that falls in good soil produces a great harvest of thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was planted.

Application

Jesus expects us to be fruitful in the Kingdom.

If we read this parable with a legalistic or religious mindset, we might get discouraged. I haven’t knowingly led thirty people to the Lord, let alone a hundred. Most devout, committed christians haven’t either.

The point is that God call us to be productive in the Kingdom. Our faith in him produces a heart that is inclined to serve the Kingdom of God rather than just being self-centred.

Again, this is not about counting returns on God’s investment. We don’t have to worry about not making the grade because this is not about producing results that we can measure.

This parable is about walking faithfully and obediently with God, letting Him produce a harvest in our lives.

Prayer

Thank you Lord that you love me enough to die for me. May I show my faith by dedicating all of my life to you. Amen.

Scripture

“To those who listen to my teaching more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them.”

Observation

Jesus addresses a crowd from a boat while the people listen on the shore. He tells many parables. One of those parables concerns a farmer who sows seed. Some of it falls on shallow soil, where the seeds sprouts quickly, but wilts in the sun because their roots are shallow. Some seed falls on a path where birds come and eat them. Some seeds fall among thorns which choke out the tender plants. But some of the seed falls on fertile soil and produce a huge crop.

The disciples ask Jesus why He teachers in parables. He replies that they are given for those who listen to his teaching. Those people will increase in knowledge, but those who don’t listen, even the little knowledge they have will be taken away.

Application

Spiritual gifts are like muscles; the more you use them, the stronger they become. Faith, understanding, wisdom, prophecy, prayer; all require effort on our part if we are to grow in them.

Jesus used parables to separate those who are receptive to His message from those who are stubborn. Parables take effort to decode. They reveal whether the heart of a person is rocky soil or fertile soil.

Am I prepared to put in the effort to work on my relationship with the Lord? Will I spend time in prayer and reading the Bible?

To those who seek the Lord with some effort, more understanding will be given.

Prayer

Please help me Lord to be more diligent in seeking you. Amen.

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.