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Bible Study WELCOME TO AN IN DEPTH STUDY OF MATTHEW'S GOSPEL.

Boy, your memory is a lot better than mine. I'm simply amazed at how Jesus uses each situation to demonstrate just Who He is. It's no wonder why God has left the Jews in the dust. I just can't believe that they refused to believe what they were present to see, hear, and even in some cases participate in several conversations with Jesus....Thick headed I guess.

But, if they had of got it there wouldn't of been any hope for us Gentiles, ...we must remember Noah prophesied Japheth would dwell in the tents of Shem.
 
Day 81 Sunday 12/7/14 Matthew 9:9-13 Tax Collectors, N.T. IRS.

Last week, while I was praying, the thought came to me to include this as part of my worship and prayers each morning. "Heavenly Father, make Your ways, my ways, and make Your thoughts my thoughts." For me, I need this desperately, His thoughts and ways if ever I'm able to minister to the needs of others I need so very much.

I hear you there, it's only been a few years since I have changed, I need, give to me, make me, ...concerning His Divine character, to, ...you be my strength, you be my health, you be my knowledge, you be my wisdom...., in and through me.
 
The Cross was Gods plan from the beginning...

Rev 13:8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
 
I hear you there, it's only been a few years since I have changed, I need, give to me, make me, ...concerning His Divine character, to, ...you be my strength, you be my health, you be my knowledge, you be my wisdom...., in and through me.

I like that Karl! You are on a great course to the purpose and power of the Almighty. You are in the minority there my friend. There are few who realize what you are doing. The Holy Spirit is guiding you into the good things of God. Just make sure that you keep a lid on pride because the evil one is aware of what God is doing in you as he sees the work of the Holy Spirit thru you. Keep thirsting for that strength, health, knowledge and wisdom, God promises to dump a ton of those things into your heart, especially His wisdom....I love you Brother. :hug
 
Day 82 Monday 12/8/14 Matthew 9:14,15 Big Question.

Matthew 9:14 "Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not?
9:15 And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast."


I'm thinking that John the Baptist is in jail at this point is time. So John has been taken away from his disciples. Jesus, on the other hand, is still with His disciples, this is a big difference as we approach the meaning of these two verses. From what I understand, the Pharisees and probably the Disciples of John were taught to fast at least two times a week, I read somewhere that they fasted three times a week.

I wouldn't be surprised if the Pharisees were the culprits who put questions of the difference of fasting into John's Disciples minds, mainly because of the question. "Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but not your Disciples."

I have always been interested in Jesus' remarks when being questioned by the Pharisees. The way Jesus answered to question further causes me to believe that Jesus knew that the question that John's Disciples asked really came because of the Pharisees. Jesus paints a picture of a bridegroom being prepared for a wedding with the close friends of of the bridegroom. There would be great festivities and joy over the pending marriage. Obviously, there would be no need for fasting.

The following is a picture of a Jewish wedding. (Albert Barnes e-Sword) Taken from Matthew 25:1 about the lamps to start.
Which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom - The “lamps” used on such occasions were rather “torches” or “flambeaux.” They were made by winding rags around pieces of iron or earthenware, sometimes hollowed so as to contain oil, and fastened to handles of wood. These torches were dipped in oil, and gave a large light. Marriage “ceremonies” in the East were conducted with great pomp and solemnity. The ceremony of marriage was performed commonly in the open air, on the banks of a stream. Both the bridegroom and bride were attended by friends. They were escorted in a palanquin. carried by four or more persons. After the ceremony of marriage succeeded a feast of seven days if the bride was a virgin, or three days if she was a widow. This feast was celebrated in her father’s house. At the end of that time the bridegroom conducted the bride with great pomp and splendor to his own home.
This was done in the evening, or at night, Jeremiah 7:34; Jeremiah 25:10; Jeremiah 33:11. Many friends and relations attended them; and besides those who went with them from the house of the bride, there was another company that came out from the house of the bridegroom to meet them and welcome them. These were probably female friends and relatives of the bridegroom, who went out to welcome him and his new companion to their home. These are the virgins mentioned in this parable. Not knowing precisely the time when the procession would come, they probably went out early, and waited until they should see indications of its approach. In the celebration of marriage in the East at the present day, many of the special customs of ancient times are observed

Now, Jesus changes the picture to one of despair. Actually, He tells them of His own departure when He is arrested, murdered, and hung on the cross, and departed to Heaven. That is the time to fast, not when the Bridegroom is with them.
 
I like that Karl! You are on a great course to the purpose and power of the Almighty. You are in the minority there my friend. There are few who realize what you are doing. The Holy Spirit is guiding you into the good things of God. Just make sure that you keep a lid on pride because the evil one is aware of what God is doing in you as he sees the work of the Holy Spirit thru you. Keep thirsting for that strength, health, knowledge and wisdom, God promises to dump a ton of those things into your heart, especially His wisdom....I love you Brother. :hug


Thanks bro, I really appreciate your encouragement and exhortation, ...it means a lot to me, and I enjoy this study, in fact, I really enjoy having brothers and sisters that I can talk to and learn from.

Blessings
 
The Cross was Gods plan from the beginning...

Rev 13:8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
That is correct Reba. It really astounds me that before the Antichrist arrived on the scene, men & women refused to worship Jesus. Now that Jesus is no longer available to worship, they so easily worship the Antichrist.
 
ok put on the gloves my brother....
images


1Jn_2:18 Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.

Why does the word antichrist come up when speaking of the The Revelation of Jesus Christ ?
John penned both the 'little books of John' and The Revelation.. God did not have John use antichrist in the Revelation of Christ why do we?
Not asking for a reply but for the thinking... as to not derail this thread , you work very hard to put together and is very much appreciated. i will not respond to any remarks at this time.....:hug
 
Boy, your memory is a lot better than mine. I'm simply amazed at how Jesus uses each situation to demonstrate just Who He is. It's no wonder why God has left the Jews in the dust. I just can't believe that they refused to believe what they were present to see, hear, and even in some cases participate in several conversations with Jesus....Thick headed I guess.

I do not blame Jews for not believing in Christ, because it had to be that way for our sakes. In fact, I even believe the faith of all Christ's followers failed while Jesus was in the tomb. Had Jesus been forthright, rather than obscuring His nature so that people would always have the 'reasonable' option to disbelieve, there would never have been a crucifixion, or resurrection, or ascension, or gift of the Holy Spirit. So in effect their disbelief was part of the plan that makes our belief possible.
 
Day 83 Tuesday 12/9/14 Matthew 9:16,17 Old Is Old.

Matthew 9:16 "No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment, for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse.
9:17 Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved."


Jesus is teaching a great principle here. When He came upon the scene, He was bringing His Kingdom into view. Up until this point in time the Kingdom was something in the future. Jesus teaches the Pharisees a principle that they won't understand and if they did, they would ignore it. The wine skins and cloth represent the Pharisees rituals which they concocted so that they would, first, feel good about themselves, or not to worry about "making it" in the end. Second, many of these rituals were done in the open so that the public could see how righteous they were.

The new cloth and new wine skins represent the Kingdom of Christ Jesus. The whole teaching, as I see it, is what will fit into the Kingdom. The Hebrew people of old, spent their spiritual lives looking forward to living in the Promised Land. Then, there was the prospect of finally, at death, when finally each has joined his kindred on the other side in the heavenly Promised City.

I believe that this teaching of Jesus, is because of the preceding question about fasting. As I just mentioned, the Pharisees were big on rituals, of which multiple fasting's were one of them. Many of their rituals were "man made" and as a result will find no place in the promised Kingdom. I have an idea that the Disciples of John understood more of this teaching than did the Pharisees. There will be a new Covenant in Jesus, therefore the Old Covenant will not fit into the Kingdom, especially when it comes to justification from sin. The Old Covenant was works oriented whereas the New Covenant is Grace by Faith oriented. The old was man's work, the new was Jesus' work on the cross. The new cloth & wine skins is in totality the work of the Son of God and is freely given to the honest believer who puts his faith and trust in his Master Owner, Jesus the Christ of God.

As a side note, the folk in those days did not use "bottles" made of glass. the wine skins were called bottles.
 
The easiest way for me to actually see that the new covenant could not be incorporated into the old covenant is because of the old covenant laws of sacrifice and cleansing by the blood of bulls and goats is not compatible with the blood of Christ for atonement, justification and sanctification.
 
Day 84 Wednesday 12/10/14 Matthew 9:18, 23-26 Get Rid Of The Crowd.

Matthew 9:18 "While he spake these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live."

Matthew 9:23 "And when Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the minstrels and the people making a noise,
9:24 He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn.
9:25 But when the people were put forth, he went in, and took her by the hand, and the maid arose.
9:26 And the fame hereof went abroad into all that land."


This account of a ruler of a particular Synagogue, proves to me that there were folk in the Jewish System that had some kind of idea that Jesus was more than a great Prophet and healer. I'm not sure what they thought He was, but the fact that Jairus, his name,worshiped Jesus, probably kneeling and bowing, and showing great respect, causes me to think that Jairus thought Jesus was more than mortal man, IMO.

The way this is phrased, I think that Jairus being present with his dying 12 year daughter, the thought came to him, probably by the Holy Spirit, Jesus is in the town, I need to go to Him, He will help. During the time it took for him to speak to Jesus, a person from Jairus' home came and told him that his daughter had died. It kind of surprises me that Jairus didn't stay until his daughter died, and then go to get Jesus because for me, I want to be with my loved one right up to their death.

When my first wife died, I was present with her with my Son and Daughter. I knew that she was going home to her Savior of which she loved so very much. My Mother lived 99 years, 79 of those years she loved and followed Jesus as best that she could. She lived with my Daughter in Maine and when I received her call that my Mother wouldn't make it thru the day, I left Massachusetts to be with her. I arrived about 15 minutes too late and that really bothered me. At least I could kiss her cheek and say a little prayer over her. I say all this because I believe that it's important for peace of mind to be present when a close family person dies.

Jesus takes Peter, James and John along with Jairus to his house and once inside He is met by all the mourners. My goodness, the extent that the Jewish folk go to when one of their loved ones dies! The shrieks, wailing, and otherwise demonstration of grief is hard for me to understand. Perhaps one of our Jewish friends can enlighten us. To make the loss of a person who has died seem so great a loss, they even hire professional mourners, IMO, takes away the authenticity of the period of mourning no matter how long it went. Then to hire musicians to play soulful music seems to me goes too far.

At any rate, Jesus and His small group of witnesses to account to the miracle of raising the dead, Jesus clears the house of all the noise and clatter. The fact that some of these people were making fun of and ridiculing Jesus, must have made Peter, James, and the parents of this little daughter rather provoked. Jesus simply went in where the child lay dead, took hold of her had and her life came back to her and probably her Mother prepared something for her to eat. I can only imagine the joy in that household that day and the admiration that they all had for Jesus.

I wish I had been there to see and hear those who were making fun of Jesus, humble pie must have been the meal of the day. It's no wonder that this first miracle of raising someone from the dead was so exciting that news of that spread quickly about.
 
On the "human side" some of the priest hood may have known and trusted Zacharias,
I do not understand why you think the dad left the dying girl? the passage reads to me like she was dead... Yet you name him and the passages doesn't .. so whats up :)
 
On the "human side" some of the priest hood may have known and trusted Zacharias,
I do not understand why you think the dad left the dying girl? the passage reads to me like she was dead... Yet you name him and the passages doesn't .. so whats up :)
Because of Luke 8:42 "For he had one only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she lay a dying. But as he went the people thronged him." And, Luke 8:49 "While he yet spake, there cometh one from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying to him, Thy daughter is dead; trouble not the Master."

It looked to me like Jairus' daughter was not dead when he came to Jesus and the final word came from someone from his house.
 
Because of Luke 8:42 "For he had one only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she lay a dying. But as he went the people thronged him." And, Luke 8:49 "While he yet spake, there cometh one from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying to him, Thy daughter is dead; trouble not the Master."

It looked to me like Jairus' daughter was not dead when he came to Jesus and the final word came from someone from his house.
If my child were dying I would not think that someone else's prayers to the Lord would be more fervent than my own. So if the Lord where here on earth I would not think that someone else's request would be more fervent than my own. Who's request could be more sincere and more humble than that of the parent who loves the child?
 
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