Monday, July 8, 2013

The Place

Scripture: Matthew 13:1-2

That day Jesus went out of the house and was sitting by the sea. And large crowds gathered to Him, so He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd was standing on the beach. 

Insights:  The day in which Jesus left the house and went down to the sea was the same day in which He had healed some people, specifically a demon possessed man, and was charged by the religious leaders as having come from Satan.  It had already been an eventful day for Jesus and now it was going to be even fuller when He delivered those kingdom parables.  Now I know verses one and two are here as a geographical footnote.  These verses do not contain any spiritual truth, per se.  If, however, we do a little sanctified imagining we can see some reasons for these verses being present.  I think these two verses are here in a parable sense themselves.  Tomorrow we will define what a parable means and is, but for today I think verse one and two stand as a geographical parable for Jesus.  Remember, earlier that day the Jewish people reached the climax of their rejection when they said Jesus was from Satan’s kingdom.  Jesus then judged them in that twelfth chapter and now He transitions from the Jewish people to the Gentile people.  The house was often associated with Israel in the Old Testament and the sea was often associated with the Gentiles in the Old Testament.  In the previous chapters Jesus spent a lot of time in homes and the synagogues.  After this chapter we find Jesus spending less and less time in people’s homes and the synagogues and more and more time in the open areas amidst creation.  I believe these two verses are present to be a lynch pen for us to hold this distinct change in direction for Jesus.  He still had eternity set in His heart and He had not been thwarted, but now there was a distinct expansion of His message to incorporate even the Gentile pagans of the world.  Beloved, there are times in our lives we need to step back and evaluate the direction we are heading.  We need to determine if our present course is effective for God and His kingdom.  If for some reason there needs to be a course change, then we must willingly follow Jesus’ example and turn toward the Father. 

Questions:
  1. Has there ever been a specific moment in your life in which you knew the direction for the rest of your life was going to be different?
  2. Are you in need of making an intentional shift in the direction your life is heading?
Prayer: Father, I make plans, but in the end my plans need to be subject to You and Your ways.  If there is a directional shift I am in need of making, please stir my heart and guide me down the paths of righteousness.  Amen.

 

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