Matthew 4:12-25
Christ here begins His "public ministry". The other Gospels give us additional and more specific information and we will get to that in the months ahead, but this is what Matthew shares with us. There are three examples in Christs ministry that stand out to me in this passage.
Christ was a MESSENGER of truth. Jesus was a prolific teacher but he was also a preacher. As we shall see tomorrow when we start the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught many principles about life and God. But what I see in this passage is that He was a preacher. He proclaimed the truth and called men to action. He saw the plight of man in his sin and was moved to action. The message was clear: "repent". We might not like being told what to do and we might not like telling others what to do. But we know the truth of God's Word which gives us a responsibility before both God and man. May we faithfully call the men and women that God has sovereignly placed around us to turn from their sin and trust in Christ.
Christ was a MULTIPLIER of men. I believe that it is significant that Christ started His public ministry by calling disciples and that He ended His earthly ministry by commissioning disciplers. It is impressive that these fishermen immediately followed Christ in order to be able to fish men. It was a call to leave that which is temporal -- fish, in order to invest in that which is eternal -- men. We will do well to follow this example. Far too often, ministry becomes about buildings and books which are all bound to burn. May we passionately invest our lives in the task of instilling the Word of God into the lives of men who will go and do likewise.
Christ was a MEETER of needs. His priority was to proclaim God's Word to men. However, He did not ignore the suffering and sickness that was all around Him. He had supernatural abilities to heal and He used those abilities not just to authenticate His message or to attract multitudes, but because He loved people. I fear that many times we ignore people's needs because we fear that we will be accused of preaching the "Social Gospel". I also fear that we often seek to meet people's needs as means of manipulating them to pack our pews. May God give us a genuine love for the people around us and the nations of the world that we might generously share our time, affection and checkbooks to relieve suffering and proclaim salvation.
Christ was a MESSENGER of truth. Jesus was a prolific teacher but he was also a preacher. As we shall see tomorrow when we start the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught many principles about life and God. But what I see in this passage is that He was a preacher. He proclaimed the truth and called men to action. He saw the plight of man in his sin and was moved to action. The message was clear: "repent". We might not like being told what to do and we might not like telling others what to do. But we know the truth of God's Word which gives us a responsibility before both God and man. May we faithfully call the men and women that God has sovereignly placed around us to turn from their sin and trust in Christ.
Christ was a MULTIPLIER of men. I believe that it is significant that Christ started His public ministry by calling disciples and that He ended His earthly ministry by commissioning disciplers. It is impressive that these fishermen immediately followed Christ in order to be able to fish men. It was a call to leave that which is temporal -- fish, in order to invest in that which is eternal -- men. We will do well to follow this example. Far too often, ministry becomes about buildings and books which are all bound to burn. May we passionately invest our lives in the task of instilling the Word of God into the lives of men who will go and do likewise.
Christ was a MEETER of needs. His priority was to proclaim God's Word to men. However, He did not ignore the suffering and sickness that was all around Him. He had supernatural abilities to heal and He used those abilities not just to authenticate His message or to attract multitudes, but because He loved people. I fear that many times we ignore people's needs because we fear that we will be accused of preaching the "Social Gospel". I also fear that we often seek to meet people's needs as means of manipulating them to pack our pews. May God give us a genuine love for the people around us and the nations of the world that we might generously share our time, affection and checkbooks to relieve suffering and proclaim salvation.
Regarding Christ as the MEETER of needs, can't this translate to acts of mercy? In financial acts of mercy to others, it seems that as humans, we tend to pry into people's lives under the "rationalization" of being "good stewards of money" and ask to see every jot and tittle of their lives. I would think God does not delight as much in this as just helping someone in financial distress out of the love of our hearts to God and man. As a follower of Christ, do people look at me and see the image of Christ reflected in a generous and helpful spirit? I believe, in some cases, asking for an account of someone's checkbook can be humilitating for them, and a lack of love and mercy on my part!
ReplyDeleteChrist had that unique ability to heal people so he could meet needs in ways that is more difficult for us to do. Many times, not all by any means, for us to meet the physical needs of others it will cost us money. However, your point about seeing every "jot and tittle" is very well taken. We give as unto the Lord and while we want to be wise in our investments, the true motivation for our giving must be a love for God and a love for the people to whom we give.
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