Matthew 16:5 They forgot to take bread

One of the biggest things that keeps us from being happy as a Christian is ourselves.  I know, in my case, it’s that I can never do enough.  Coupled with that are the things that I just didn’t do, for whatever reason. 

Here in this passage Jesus addresses this fear.

Matthew 16:5–12 [my translation] ⁵ And the disciples having come to the other side [of the lake] forgot to take bread. ⁶ And Jesus said to them, “Watch out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” ⁷ And they began to reason among themselves, saying, “Because we didn’t have [any] bread.” ⁸ But Jesus, aware of this, said, “You men of little faith, why are you reasoning among yourselves that you have no bread? ⁹ “Do you not yet understand or remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets you picked up? ¹⁰ “Or the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many large baskets you picked up? ¹¹ “How is it that you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread? But beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” ¹² Then they understood that He did not say to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

They had forgotten to bring food, and Jesus reminds them of two recent times when they had food, but it wasn’t nearly enough.  No problem.  God multiplied what they had.  Always believe God that you have enough.  That things will always work out alright. 

Or, maybe I should say, things will always work out alright if you can believe they will. 

What would be the point of chiding them for little faith if it didn’t matter anyway?

Four times in Matthew’s gospel, Jesus talks about people with little faith, and each time He addresses a concern that they have.

In Matthew 6:30, He is talking about people who worry about their daily needs: ³⁰ “But if the grass of the field being today and tomorrow into the furnace is being cast God so clothes, not much rather you, you of little faith!  (My translation is a little rough here, trying to catch more the sense of the original rather than making smooth English.)

In Matthew 8:26, He is talking to experienced fishermen who are afraid of drowning in a sinking boat.  ²⁶ He said to them, “Why are you timid, you men of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm.

In Matthew 14:31 (NASB95), Jesus is talking to Peter who just attempted to walk on water and was about to drown.   ³¹ Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”

In two of these cases, they were in difficult straits, but Jesus was physically present with them.  What if He wasn’t?  What if that were you?  On a sinking boat or drowning? 

Does faith make a difference?

If it didn’t, then no point of even bringing it up.  If everything that happens is God’s will, then you don’t need faith.  What will be will be.  They all would have drowned. 

And, no, that wouldn’t have been God’ will.

Don’t try to overthink things here.  Just learn to believe God for more things.

Jesus wants us to not worry when we forget things, when we think about our needs, and when our lives are in danger.  Always walk in the confidence that God is not only able but quite willing to do what needs to be done to remedy the situation. 

 

 

 

 

We are seated with Christ in the heavenlies Ephesians 2:6

I’m guessing that you haven’t thought about this lately.  You are seated with Christ in the heavenlies.  You remember reading about it, but you haven’t thought about it, because you have no idea what it means. 

Well, I think I know now.   Not completely.  I’m still learning things.

I mentioned last time about God being our Father.  The entire Old Testament was spent teaching us who God is, what He is like, His power, His holiness, His awesomeness.

Now in the New Testament, we learn that this God, the Almighty, the Everlasting, is our Father.  Some people will think that I might be taking God too casually here, and I think too many people are missing the whole point.

But that was last lesson.

I have had things that I have prayed for for decades.  With no resolution.  Things even getting worse in some cases.

Hmmm, is this God’s will?  Why won’t He answer my prayers?

I think this is the answer.

When our children were young, they were dependent on us for everything.  We made them breakfast, we picked out their clothes, bought them, and even dressed them for a few years.  Our goal is that they would be able and actually do many of these things for themselves.

When the text says that we are seated with Christ in the heavenlies, are we sitting on folding chairs or small stools?  It doesn’t specifically say, but generally speaking, when we are sitting with somebody anywhere, we mean we are sitting at the same table or on the same furniture in the same room as this other person. 

Too many of us are still living in the Old Testament where we are afraid of displeasing God, uncertain of where we stand with Him from day to day. 

To use a modern illustration, it’s like we got a job at this huge company.  The pay and benefits are decent.  But we are always worried about losing our jobs, how well we are doing at work, performance reviews, worried when the boss calls us into his office.  But then you learn that the founder and owner of this company is actually your Father whom you never knew you had.  You are immediately promoted to one of those jobs where you go around to all the stores and check in on things.  If you find things you don’t like, you can either have it corrected immediately or you have access to the one who will.

Like Paul says in Romans 5:17 (NASB95) ¹⁷ For if by the transgression of the one [meaning, Adam], death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

This word ‘reign’ is the same word used of kings and queens in the Bible.  They have real authority.  Now we certainly know that God knows more and better than we do, and we would never want to think that we know better than Him.  But I think too many of us are afraid to make any decisions at all.

At some point, you will see things and situations that you know full well what God would want.  We may pray and ask God to change it, but I think a lot of times He will say, if we listen, you fix it.  You’re a big boy or girl now.  Take control of the situation, and change it.  Like when Jesus talked about moving mountains by talking to them.  Mark 11:23,24 (NASB95) ²³ “Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him. ²⁴ “Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you.

We aren’t to pray that God will move the mountain.  We are to command it to move ourselves.

We are always so afraid that God might not want that thing.  Like kids who are afraid to do anything, because their parents might not want them to.  Afraid to get their own food out of the fridge to eat, afraid to spend money on anything, afraid to make any decisions at all.

Hey, I am talking to God all the time.  I want His input on everything.  But I think too often, we are praying that God will move the mountains, and He is saying, No, you move it.  I told you how, and I told you that you can.

Jesus wasn’t mad at Peter for wanting to walk on the water.  He was disappointed that he didn’t.  Matthew 14:31 (NASB95) ³¹ Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”

I think too many of our unanswered prayers is not because of God’s unwillingness, but because of our fear in believing that we have any authority or responsibility to act on our own.