Crossway Christian Church Doug Wallaker

Frank Abagnale was a con artist. He was known to forge checks to gain money, pretend to be a doctor, airline pilot, and social worker. When caught by the FBI, they began to uncover how most of the frauds went down, save one: how did he pass the Louisiana bar exam? Easy, he said: I studied! Frank had always shown himself bright and capable. It is one thing to believe what someone tells you – but you ought always believe what they show you. Jesus’ past two miracles show us precisely who he is, the very Son of God.

There are a number of ways that an event can be seen as major in the Bible. Sometimes much that comes after depends on them; sometimes it is the amount of text given over to the event. But there are some events that are shown to be important because they are repeated multiple times. The feeding of the 5,000 is a wondrous miracle, but doesn’t take a lot of text, and nothing explicitly flows from it. But all the Gospels tell us of it, and do so differently, helping us to see that much good can come from studying the nature of Jesus’ provision for his people here.

Nuance can create confusion for people. A distinction is typically, and rightly, drawn between faith and faithfulness; the first being a constant trust and reliance on Jesus, the second walking rightly before him. Matthew, however, wants to make sure that we don’t drive too large a gap between them. To have true faith is to be faithful to the call that Jesus makes on your life. This is why he writes to us about the life of Jesus, that we might walk as he walked. Today, however, he gives us the anti-picture of Jesus: Herod, the unfaithful king. How should we walk faithfully before Jesus?

We have all heard the saying that “familiarity breeds contempt.” The more we get to know people, the more of their issues and problems you are privy to. The people of Nazareth have the same issue with Jesus. His teaching is immaculate, but they are too knowledgeable of his people, indeed they think, of him to trust him. Let us learn from their mistake today!

Treasures are lost and found every day. Many of us have stories of such losses; fewer have stories of such finds. And while we might not find great artwork under our mattresses, or buried in our backyards, we have placed before us the greatest treasure we could ever hope for in the Kingdom of Heaven. But what does it take to make it ours?

Parables are a rich way to teach the truths of the Kingdom to all. Memorable and illustrative, they nevertheless provide a good deal of material for us to think through. Today, Jesus gives us three parables to consider, focusing on how the Kingdom of God relates to the world. Let those who have ears to hear, hear!