February 21st, 2024
Wednesday, February 21st
Gather!
By: Pastor Melissa Beauvais
Matthew 12:22-50
22 Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see. 23 All the people were astonished and said, “Could this be the Son of David?”
24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons.”
25 Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. 26 If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? 27 And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. 28 But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
29 “Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can plunder his house.
30 “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. 31 And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.
33 “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. 35 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. 36 But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. 37 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”
38 Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”
39 He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here. 42 The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now something greater than Solomon is here.
43 “When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. 45 Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.”
46 While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. 47 Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.”
48 He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” 49 Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”
Shew! If you have just finished reading today, it’s a hard one. After spewing false accusations to Jesus, the Pharisees now, ironically, demand a sign. The phrase “this generation” is repeated 4x, through the next few verses, and it is this generation that will not allow themselves to recognize the sign when it’s standing right in front of them. Like Jonah, Jesus comes and preaches the news, and it is the ones who are least likely to receive the Kingdom do. But interestingly, “This generation” refers to before, now, and coming.
The small little parable towards the end of this chapter could be summed up from v. 30: “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” If you hear the words of Jesus and then abandon His ways, your house is left empty. You cannot live in duplicity. In other words, you must walk the walk and talk the talk. When you live as Jesus does and love how He loves when you gather up those who are the least of thee. Those who no one would have ever thought would transform. I know this because that was me; that was my husband. We came into a life with Jesus because others relentlessly planted a seed and gathered.
The end of the chapter finishes with what seems harsh, but Jesus reiterates that loyalty must belong to the Kingdom of God. This contrasts with the wrong responses of others seen in ch.12 While most of this generation has rejected Jesus, He is surrounded by those who are now His brothers and sisters in the Kingdom of God and His Father in heaven. Are you with Jesus, and are you sharing His love with others who gather?
Gather!
By: Pastor Melissa Beauvais
Matthew 12:22-50
22 Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see. 23 All the people were astonished and said, “Could this be the Son of David?”
24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons.”
25 Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. 26 If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? 27 And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. 28 But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
29 “Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can plunder his house.
30 “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. 31 And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.
33 “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. 35 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. 36 But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. 37 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”
38 Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”
39 He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here. 42 The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now something greater than Solomon is here.
43 “When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. 45 Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.”
46 While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. 47 Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.”
48 He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” 49 Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”
Shew! If you have just finished reading today, it’s a hard one. After spewing false accusations to Jesus, the Pharisees now, ironically, demand a sign. The phrase “this generation” is repeated 4x, through the next few verses, and it is this generation that will not allow themselves to recognize the sign when it’s standing right in front of them. Like Jonah, Jesus comes and preaches the news, and it is the ones who are least likely to receive the Kingdom do. But interestingly, “This generation” refers to before, now, and coming.
The small little parable towards the end of this chapter could be summed up from v. 30: “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” If you hear the words of Jesus and then abandon His ways, your house is left empty. You cannot live in duplicity. In other words, you must walk the walk and talk the talk. When you live as Jesus does and love how He loves when you gather up those who are the least of thee. Those who no one would have ever thought would transform. I know this because that was me; that was my husband. We came into a life with Jesus because others relentlessly planted a seed and gathered.
The end of the chapter finishes with what seems harsh, but Jesus reiterates that loyalty must belong to the Kingdom of God. This contrasts with the wrong responses of others seen in ch.12 While most of this generation has rejected Jesus, He is surrounded by those who are now His brothers and sisters in the Kingdom of God and His Father in heaven. Are you with Jesus, and are you sharing His love with others who gather?
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February
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