NT: The Book of Matthew, Chapter 15

Matthew 15:1-39

(15:1) The Pharisees and the lead-figures of the crooked churches return to vex Jesus and try to confuse his students. Jesus' work here is an accurate and informative example of what we ourselves will likely face when we are following a truthful path. Adversaries are not going to go away, their mission is always to taunt and vex, to confuse and ruin. The gift from God in facing them is the ability to mute them with your wisdom and your kindness. You have to be courageous and knowledgeable in your mission otherwise you will easily be pushed off of your path. You need thick skin, and you have to have the patience and strength to continue own while it grows. Jesus is undeterred by his enemies, but more than that, he teaches them also with patience and truth. We can't be a perfect emulation of Jesus but we can at least try to contain our frustration and to not act or respond in anger. If our mission and our goal is compassion, we must give and nourish compassion, even when it's difficult.

Do not mistake that for becoming someone weak in spirit. Do not become a push-over. Stand by your message and defend it fiercely. Defend your values with facts, wisdom, passion, discernment. Even in argument, try to be the person who is not arguing but is communicating intelligently. Anger and displeasure always cloud our emotions and our reactions, we really have to learn to work through it silently and internally, and then respond to the situation without distraction.

This is why it is so important to determine your authentic values. If you know for certain what you value and what you believe in, that means you also understand why you value what you do and why you believe in it. Knowing what and why you believe in things makes you powerful. You cannot be deterred because your path is clear and you're passionate about keeping it that way.

(15:2) The Pharisees make a common mistake (and by common I mean it happens all the time, even and maybe especially in our time now). Many so-called religious people and religious figures are so concerned and distracted by laws and technicalities that they miss important meaning. Laws and instructions are created to help and support people, not to punish and to imprison them. The students of Jesus are dedicating their lives to His teaching; they left behind their homes and their families for a greater purpose and intend to continue the purpose even after Jesus is gone - surely punishing them for not washing their hands (a law made by the elders, not God) is not enough to punish them and therefore disregard all of the wonderful, inspiring work they are doing. The Pharisees try to create distractions so desperately that they try to use minor, inconsequential infractions to debilitate an entire spiritual teaching system.

This is something done by people who do not have a purpose. This is done by people who do not have good and progressive intentions. They are unworthy of you letting them have power over you.

(15:3) Jesus calls them out for their. Always be aware of a person's word. A lot of people say one thing and do another. Even more people will judge, smirk and scoff at somebody for doing something that they themselves even do! These people are distractions. These people are meandering through life destructing good people with their gossip and their hypocritical judgement. Do not be such a person and do not lose you way because of such people.

Jesus points out to them that they also break laws.

(15:4) Jesus reminds that people should respect and care for their parents (for all people), be patience with them for their mistakes and short-comings. 

Side note: That may not be easy or appealing to you but use your good and perspective judgement... if someone is asking for your forgiveness and they are being kind and genuine about asking, try to work on giving it... even if in a small way at first.

(15:5) Here Jesus shows us that in the time of this happening, (and sometimes even today) people of the church suck people dry, spiritually and financially. Some churches are hungry for your money and will instruct you not to give to others but to trust your money with them. Some churches are trustworthy and some are not. Jesus wants to Pharisees and we readers to know that donating money to the needy and to our friends and family is a gift that goes directly to God. You do not need to wedge a church or a religious figure in-between your faith and God. You have a direct connection with Him. Your goodwill toward others is a gift directly to Him.

(15:6-7) Jesus reminds us that we should not point out other people's flaws because we have flaws ourselves. We hear this a lot and we repeat it a lot but almost none of us actually take the advice and exemplify it in our lives. We do not know and understand the complexity that makes up each individual and therefore we cannot judge their actions. We should be supportive but at the very least, we should not contribute to their misfortune and behavior by gossiping and negatively judging.

We each get a lot wrong, too and we cannot know or decide whose wrongdoing is worse than others.

(15:8-9) Jesus takes us back to the Book of Isaiah, reminding us that the New and Old Testaments are linked and corroborate each other. 

This scripture is simple and some of the most important advice you will ever receive. Do not say one thing and do the opposite of that thing. You confuse yourself and you confuse others. You do not accomplish anything by pretending to be something you are not. You make no progress. 

Some people, even and sometimes especially, church leaders, talk a good game... they pretend to be so holy and perfect but the inside of them is dark and neglectful of kindness and truth. Be who you are. If you do not like who you are, your actions determine who you can be, not your fancy words.

(15:10) Hear and understand Jesus says to everyone around. Big announcement coming and it brings the discussion full circle:

(15:11) What you eat does not make you a sinner. You cannot condemn a person for such a trifle and unimportant thing as not following an unimportant societal norm (such as eating bread without washing hands). What matters, what determines who you are, is what comes out of your mouth. Make sure they words that you speak are true to who you are, are kind to others and is progressive toward humanity's future. 

Do not get confused by technicalities and silliness. Know the truth. Stand by it. Defend what is important. Defend and support what matters... the big issues, feeding people, loving people, helping people...

(15:12) Do not make it your mission to offend others but if you are truthful and your truth is good but offends somebody, what you spoke needed to be said regardless. People will eventually learn from it or they will not, but you contributed to the greater purpose of defending humanity.

(15:13) This plant metaphor should be read as reassurance by us: everything which does not come from God, which is not of God and his honest compassion, will be removed from us, will be removed from us entirely.

There are ways (plural) of achieving this. Here on Earth, our trust in God can enable us to live unencumbered, undisturbed by that which creates adversity for us. Although the physical presence of trouble may appear before us, we are given the courage, wit and wisdom to overcome it. The wonderment of God is not simply that He can remove evil but that He has made us stronger than it. We are not weak and trembling before our enemies, God has given us the armor to face them if only we will wear it proudly.

(15:14) Jesus tells the disciples not to become overly-concerned with understanding people who try to corrupt and confuse good things. He reminds the disciples and us that a person who will not see and act in truth is metaphorically blind. God's path is made clear to those who seek it but those who wish to destroy and hide it are lost as if they have no sight.

What (who) should we put our faith in more than even our sight? God. Let Him be your set of eyes because He sees more than you can, in fact He sees everything, and He also knows how to overcome it. Let's jump quickly to:

 2 Corinthians 5:7 For we live by faith, not by sight.

Do you walk by faith? When you trust God, you give yourself and your worry over to Him. When you believe, truly from your soul, that He has your best interest at heart, how can you ever fear a thing? He'll never let his beloved struggle if you trust Him. He waits for your permission to heal, protect and strengthen you.

(15:15) Peter asks for clarification. He wants to get it right. When you hear something that confuses you, do you abandon it or do you investigate it further? Seek knowledge diligently. You are capable of understanding but the cost is your passionate effort.

(15:16-17) Jesus explains further upon realizing that Peter still needs clarification. Jesus is passionate, 'Do you still not understand?' His soul is energized and passionate... he's saying, listen to me deeply: a bad teacher, a corrupt situation might go into you, an evilness may come into this work but I and God can remove it completely. I can heal and cleanse your body, heal and cleanse this world...

(15:18) ... but who YOU are and what YOU produce, what comes out of YOU, is a definition of your character. If evil comes OUT of you, you are responsible and it ruins you. What ruins you is not your circumstance, you might be blameless in it, but if you support injustice and you speak hatred, you construct your own demise. This relates to the bread metaphor from above: what is around you, what someone tries to put into you can be removed by your goodness and your wisdom.

(15:19) Jesus here is saying, when you put your faith into your own intelligence instead of into God's, you get yourself into trouble. You fall victim to arrogance and greed by being too prideful. The Pharisees make the mistake of trusting in themselves, they feel high and powerful because of their governmental positions... they trust their own authority rather than the pure, impartial authority of God's.

Do not be mistaken, God wants you to love yourself and to believe in yourself but do not be arrogant. Your good fortune, your talents, and whatever wealth and happiness you have has been orchestrated by Him. Remember that He is in every piece of this world and is in every piece of everything you have... do not believe yourself to be a higher authority than someone who has created Earth and stars and planets. Our God is universal, magnificent and kind. There is no safer place you can place your trust and therefore, derive your wisdom from His heart.

(15:20) What ruins a person is when they become haughty and greedy in defending their power or their wealth. When a person thinks they are so proper and important that they cannot even be kind to an all-around do-gooder (Jesus), they have corrupted themselves. 

This brings me to an important verse: 1 Corinthians 8:2 

And if any man think that he knows any thing, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know.

What does this mean? It means if you think you are really intelligent, smarter than all around you, if you are so prideful as that, you are so far removed from common sense and wisdom that you know nothing of value, nothing of importance.

What ruins a person, speaks Jesus, are evil/mean-spirited thoughts, murders, cheaters, immoral behavior, stealing, lying and general wrong-doings. These are what a person should be concerned about because these are the acts which destroy a person, not some silly technically in which they did not follow a food-rule of the governmental leaders.

Do not tear a good person down for something trivial if their soul is good. What counts is what someone does, if they contribute to happiness and compassion in the world. Maybe you swear, maybe you have tattoos or like certain music... none of that matters if on the inside, in your heart, you are good. Do not condemn a good person for small matters.

(15:21) Moving swiftly on, Jesus brings His wisdom across many borders to reach many peoples. It's easy to overlook this seemingly simple verse. Jesus isn't using a car, bus, airplane, train or even bicycle to travel these distance - no one is carrying Him... he's walking. Do you put that much effort into helping people? Do you go out of your way at the price of exerting yourself for another's benefit? 

(15:22) A woman comes before Jesus. This woman is from far away, on one of the cities not yet traversed by Jesus. Jesus is on a mission to complete before His Crucifixion and that means He must follow a scheduled itinerary. Jesus must teach in certain places, chosen by God, where they most good will be done after he leaves. Jesus is teaching in the places where He believes His teaching will most inspire the inhabitants to teach and spread compassion after He is gone. He wants this message to reverberate throughout the world for all of humanity's time here. This woman is from a city where He did not intend to go. Eventually, when His students were prepared and ready, Jesus wanted them to spread out everywhere to teach, but they were still learning and He had to prioritize as He could not possibly walk the entire Earth, through every city before dying on the cross. He simply did not have enough time.

This woman wants Jesus to heal her daughter. Now this "demon" possession can be thought of metaphorically. This woman's daughter is either suffering an ailment not yet understood medically by the people of this time, or has been corrupted by pride or greed and needs to teaching and presence of Jesus.

(15:23) In this verse, we will dissect a metaphor. Jesus is teaching a lesson, as He always does, to both the woman and the disciples simultaneously. He is testing the faith of the woman while also testing the compassion of the disciples.

(15:24) Jesus continues His test, He wants to know if this woman is truly faithful, kind and persistent. Likely it was difficult for Jesus to put her off when we know that He loves to act immediately. He reminds her of His important mission, still needing to be accomplished: He's required to teach the potential teachers so that the word does not die with Him. "The lost sheep of the House of Israel" speaks of those people who believed in God from the very beginning, when no one else did, they have strayed from Him but He knows they will return with some coaching to do great things for the world.

(15:25) The woman is persistent, she is kind and she has faith that Jesus is capable of healing her daughter. She does not give up.

Do you give up? God's help in our lives is careful and calculated. He does not rush things or do sloppy work. Trust that His mission is to help you and He takes the measures and the time to ensure that His help is pure and lasting. Do not abandon Him when it doesn't seem to you that He has answered in the manner or speed in which you command Him to. He needs your trust and your faith; He requires your patience to do wonderful and permanent goodness in your life. He has to set every piece in your life up to guide you precisely to where you should be. To where the best place for you is.

(15:26) This verse can be read as crude but what Jesus means is that God wants Him to use this short and valuable time to teach where it will do the most good in the limited time. Jesus is saying, this woman is asking me to change direction from where I can help multitudes of people to a place where I might only convince and help one. God and Jesus care and love every individual, specifically and intently. They plan to reach everyone -- but they have a particular plan and time frame to accomplish it all. Jesus is saying, this woman is from a place where people choose evil and do not and will not accept me, right now, going there, would be wasted time.

(15:27) Finally this woman's faith is revealed as true and strong. She says, yes, I know that where I am from, and maybe even who I am, is no good... but even we, even the lost and corrupted, need and crave your goodness. I may not be good all the time, but I am faithful to you, I do try. I know that you are God and I know what you are capable of.

(15:28) She has appealed to Jesus' compassion and He accepts her faith as true. He gives her what she is asking for-- it is accomplished as it is granting it. Be well, he blesses them. And so, they are well. Jesus gives his precious time to them because of their strong faith. God will always find the time and compassion to help you when your faith is strong. Be kind, be persistent, be faithful.

(15:29-31) Jesus continues on...onto a mountain, which yes!, can be thought of as a metaphor. Mountain in the Bible is a symbol for nation. So, Jesus and His teachings reside over the nation of people.

And these people are broken in many ways -- they need His love and wisdom. He gives it. He gives all of himself to make these people whole. He heals physical ailments, mental ailments and He fixes and supports the soul of people. He makes it so those who do not understand, understand. He gives them the wisdom and strength to be compassionate and purposeful.

(15:32) Here Jesus says to the disciples, these people have given me their whole selves. They have devoted their time to learn from me, their energy, their patience... everything they have they have given to me... and now, Jesus wants to give back to them. 

Give your entire self to God, too. Watch Him fill you up with the best of what you can be, with the best of what He is, when you pour and empty your broken self out for Him. Let him cleanse and correct you, guide and support you.

(15:33) The disciples have not learned yet, God has a surplus. He can and will feed everyone.

(15:34-35) For our clarity, this verse tells us that there were only 7 loaves of bread and a few fish. Not nearly enough to feed a mass of people. Jesus is above that, God creates all... He can feed His people even when they doubt. You might often hear this verse and verses that are similar to it, taught in a way that teachers God can just "poof!" create food. Go way, way deeper than that. God is an intricate creator, He uses time and science and human compassion to accomplish things such as feeding and teaching humanity. There is a strong message in every verse. Let's look more deeply.

Jesus says: everyone sit down, prepare to eat, do not worry about quantity of food. Why waste time worrying if you know that God can sustain your body and your soul? Just live, bask in the blessings of being a kind and faithful person.

Also, let's think deeply about this metaphor of bread and fish. Bread can be thought of as a symbol for spiritual wisdom/ knowledge and fish can be thought of as a symbol for the people who are brought into God's world, love and embrace.

The disciples are worried. They're thinking: Jesus, there are not enough teachers of your word and because of that, there are so few students of your word. There are not enough teachers or students to accomplish this great thing of changing the world for the better! They're very worried and not at all optimistic. They're also forgetting to remember the abilities of God.

Jesus answers their worry in the next verse:

(15:36) ... (interpreted metaphorically) Jesus teaches the disciples, He gives them His wisdom so that they can pass His wisdom onto others. Jesus does not give the bread directly to the people because He can't or doesn't want to, but because He knows it is more productive and lasting, more valuable for Him to have many teachers of His word to reach all of the billions of people that are to come and be born on the Earth... through generations, centuries, ages.

God gives His love to all of us. We should be so proud and happy that he gives us another thing: the ability to TEACH and therefore SPREAD His word... so that He doesn't just gain our heart, but also that through our efforts, He can gain many, many other hearts as well. This is a blessed responsibility.

There is enough wisdom for everything. Jesus created many teachers and therefore the word and instruction of God did not die a long time ago. There have been teachers bringing forth and saving His message right up until and through this time that we are in now. That's incredible. That's special. 

(15:37) Everyone was fed; everyone was taught and again, there were leftovers... there is always more. There is more love, more room, more hope for every single living thing. God's house will grow in proportion to the people who want to live in it.

(15:38) Count every person there, count every person everywhere... there is room, there is food, there is teaching for all.

(15:39) Jesus again makes the effort to continue His travels to reach more people, more potential teachers of His word. If you become a teacher, always teach the truth, selflessly. Teach people to teach other people. Remain humble, pass on what you have worked for to learn: compassion, kindness, humility, truth.

NT: The Book of Matthew, Chapter 14

Matthew 14:1-36

(14:1-2) At this time rumors are buzzing about Jesus' ministry around the land. Herod hears about Jesus and thinks the man everyone is talking about must be John the Baptist. Herod knows John the Baptist loves and follows God (in this verse he is described to have 'Risen from the dead' which is a metaphor for awakening to God's truth). It is a metaphor which means that we do not know, have or understand life until we understand it in the truest, purest way.

(14:3-4) John had previously gotten himself into trouble by being truthful to Herod. John told Herod, who was cheating with his brother's wife, that what he was doing was bad. Neither the woman, Herodias nor Herod appreciated that nugget of truth and they punished John for it.

(14:5) Although Herod wanted to kill John for revealing his sin, Herod could not bring himself to actually take John's life because he knew how beloved John was to so many people.

(14:6) The trouble escalates in this verse. Herod has many qualities that lead him into trouble (a lot of us, maybe all of us do!). Herod has the tendency to be seduced with women. As we know from this history given in the first 5 verses, he engages in relationships with women who he really should not be involved with. He lusts after these women regardless of the consequences and he allows their evil ways to influence his thinking and his actions.

(14:7) Herod is smitten with this young woman (and has already been with her married mother). He is so generous in feeding his poorer tendencies that he allows to gift her whatever she wants, just because she pleases him so.

(14:8) This family is not happy with John the Baptist. Similarly to people today, nobody likes to be called out on their wrongdoings. Even if we are guilty of them, we often become defensive and angry at anyone having the audacity to expose us. Herodias wants John to be killed and she passes this message on to her daughter to request of Herod.

(14:9-10) Herod promised Herodias daughter to deliver whatever she requested and he did so in the company of many others, he had to keep his word.  Herod did not really want to kill John 1) because John was indeed so beloved but also 2) because he knew John loved and was loved by God and was therefore genuinely a good person. Herod was a greedy, lustful and rather dimwitted individual but he was not so stupid as to be bloodthirsty for a kind, harmless individual such as John. Nevertheless, Herod made a promise and then commanded it to be executed.

There is an important lesson to learn from this: it is crucial that you keep your word when you promise someone something. Your honesty is your integrity. However, before you make a promise, make sure you are making the promise for a good and productive reason and stop making promises and deals with people who do not have good and productive intentions.

(14:11) This cruel and murderous woman received what she asked for. Be careful that you do not deliver innocent people to cruelty. Always lead people to opportunity and kindness.

(14:12) John's students you can surely imagine were much bereaved; they took his body and buried it because the man it contained was precious to them. They honored his spirit by taking his body away from the people who sent it away.

(14:13) Jesus took a bit of time to mourn the situation regarded John. Jesus knew that John was alive and well in heaven but He was also upset because John was a kind and gifted teacher, loyal to the word of God, and his opportunity to spread that around to people was taken away so early and needlessly.

We all have setbacks and we have a right to take time to process them. Like Jesus, we must take our time and then continue on in our mission. John would have wanted Jesus to continue spreading the word which was so important to him during his own time here on earth.

(14:14) Jesus was moved with compassion. That could be the definition of humanity's entire purpose here: to be moved with compassion. Jesus cared so much for the people around Him that his love for them moved him, motivated him to act. There are a lot of ways to heal a person. As humans, we may not have the ability to snap our fingers our touch our hands to someone in order to heal their physical ailments but we are given the opportunity to do something much better: we can work to heal their souls. We can return people to happiness with our love, friendship and support. Our bodies fail us all the time, they get sick or weak and they constantly age but our souls are resilient, eternal, and can ever be kept lit by compassion. Care like Jesus. Care so much that caring becomes your motivation.

(14:15) The disciples are still not catching on to Jesus' mission, metaphors or capabilities. Let us not make that same mistake. The disciples go to Jesus after a long day of work and say, these people need food and there is none here, send them home so that they can eat.

What is this metaphor teaching us? These people need food in the bellies but hunger here actually can stand for spiritual hunger. The people crave the teachings that Jesus is giving them. When someone is hungry... you do not send them home. You feed them. You feed their questions with truthful answers. Jesus continues the metaphor:

(14:16) Jesus says, do not send them away... let us feed them! Jesus is there teaching the disciples to feed people -> spiritually!

(14:17-18) The disciples look down at their meager scraps and say... these meager scraps cannot feed such a multitude, and they were right in a way because their understanding was not complete and strong enough to feed/teach so many people. But Jesus' teaching was complete and strong. He could and can feed the entire world if they entire world asks for it.

(14:19) Jesus fed them all. He looked up to Heaven, in other words, he looked to God who is the ultimate provided for understanding and opportunity. Jesus exemplifies to us that by keeping God at the forefront, we can do truly miraculous things. We can teach and support people when we are determined to be moved by our compassion.

(14:20) Everyone was filled. Nobody had to share a plate and nobody was still hungry after Jesus' intervention in the situation. Great metaphor! When you live by Jesus' teachings, you lack nothing and you have everything you need. There was even leftover food! That is Jesus' invitation. He is saying to us through metaphor that he has a surplus of love, He can fill us all and there is always more love, more room for you in His house.

(14:21) It does not matter the number, God can take care of His family. Accept your place in His love, in His family... He will care for you with compassion, He will feed you.

(14:22) Now that the mass of people had been comfortably fed and taught, Jesus allowed for them to be sent back to their homes. He does not turn anyone away hungry; when you come to Him, He is ready to welcome and accept you. Immediately. No questions asked.

(14:23) Jesus goes to pray. He surrounds himself in nature; He pulls Himself out of distraction so that He can focus entirely on communicating with God. We all need this, our bodies and our souls require it. We are so thirsty for the relief that God can give us when we talk to Him. Thank Him for all that He is and does but also consult Him, talk to Him about what is going on. Though God already knows and understands your troubles, when you communicate them to Him, when you trust Him with your life, He will send back to you the wisdom and understanding to tackle and diminish our obstacles. It's a beautiful process when you deliver your trust to God; when you give him your consent to take control, He is so proud and ready to take care of you. He waits for your permission; He awaits your trust...

(14:24) This is one of the most metaphorically beautiful stories of the New Testament. It is retold in the gospels so that we can get a proper understanding of what it is teaching. The disciples are on the boat without the actual, physical presence of Jesus (they have not yet learned that He and God is with them, protecting them always) and the waters become crazy. A storm comes and shakes up the boat enough to scare everyone on-board.

(14:25) Jesus finished his direct communication with God (which you also can do) and made his way to the boat to rejoin the disciples. He walked on the water to do so. I understand that this, in its literal interpretation, might be difficult for a lot of people to believe. Think metaphorically. God can get to you, easily, without obstruction, wherever you are. Nothing burdens God or makes His journey difficult.

(14:26) The disciples had never seen anything like this before. They were really quite shocked to see how easily Jesus could command nature to bend to His will. At first they think it is a monster or some unknown approaching their ship and they are quite frazzled by this idea!

(14:27) Immediately Jesus quelled their fears. That is how God works, with immediacy. He does not get a delight in spooking the men or in showing off His talents, He is selfless and humble and aligned perfectly with His mission of driving fear away. 'Do not be afraid', He tells them. Be calm, be happy... it's me, your protector, your guide.

You also should not fear what seems to be unknown... because nothing is unknown to the person who is protecting and guiding you. He knows it all. He has seen it all and He has conquered it all.

(14:28) Peter tests Jesus. I mean, he is really terrified, he wants proof. You probably want proof, too, but Jesus taught His mission on earth for you and He wants you to love Him without testing Him. Peter wants to walk on the water before he admits to believing.

Your faith, in this regard, is theoretically stronger than Peter's if you can love and know God without requiring Him to perform overt miracles to prove it to you. You truly trust Him without the promise of some reward in return.

Nevertheless, it is realistic that a lot of people do ask, and do require more than the spiritual.

(14:29) Jesus says, "Come." Bam, that simple. Come. You want to come Peter? Then do it, walk to me. There was no preparation or performance from Jesus. No incantation or lengthy build-up. Jesus does not need to be a circus act. What God wills to be done is done: simply, efficiently, quickly and without fail, disruption or error.

(14:30) Peter begins walking on the water, which he said he needed to be able to do in order to believe... but he does not believe. This is an intricate metaphor: So many people beg and search for obvious miracles because they think that would solidify their faith. But people are weak and they are fickle, even with proof and evidence they doubt and disbelieve. That is why it is so precious for you to believe and trust without seeking a reward for yourself. If you do not authentically believe, your belief is not strong or pure. Peter said he would believe if the miracle were performed but the minute he got a little scared, a little troubled by the storm (by conflict), he began to sink. He sank down, out of his faith and brought himself into actual, real trouble.

(14:31) Still... immediately Jesus reached for Peter to save Him. Jesus makes Peter (and the readers) aware of what having little faith can do to you (nothing good) but that does not make Him unwilling to help Peter. Jesus has compassion. He loves Peter; He loves us. He does not hesitate to help us, even when we are the ones who get our own selves into trouble. He is there to pull us back up.

(14:32) Jesus used the storm to teach a few really important messages to His disciples and when He was finished teaching them, he quieted the storm. Easy. Jesus is always focused on the mission, He communicated with God and then immediately after went back to teaching in such a strong yet subtle way that He caught all of the disciples off guard. Do not be off your guard, be open and observant because God teaches us, daily, in similar ways. We must pay attention or we miss lessons that we really need to learn from to improve our lives.

(14:33) The disciples are still saying. "Wow. You are really who you say you are, the son of God." One would think that by this point, they would have already learned that. Jesus keeps them in awe. He will keep us in awe as well, but we should not doubt Him... we should not doubt Him because there is so much good he can and wants to do for us when we let Him. Try not to force God to keep reassuring you that He is there. He is always there. If you do not feel God's presence it is because you have left Him because HE NEVER LEAVES YOU.

(14:34-36) Jesus and His students continue on throughout the land, teaching and healing through teaching. People believe in Him without requiring proof. They know that by just touching Him, that by giving their trust to Him, they can be healed. Be that way... trust Him.

NT: The Book of Matthew, Chapter 13

Matthew 13:1-58

(13:1) There are a couple of symbols we can draw from Jesus going to sit by the sea. For one, the sea can be thought of as a symbol for humankind. Jesus went out and sat by humankind. On a boat, or on a platform, Jesus stood among the people and taught. 

The actual sea is beautiful, as all of nature is, as it has been created by God (Through science! Different lecture). It's important that we, as humans, remain close to nature. We are of and a part of nature and when we further ourselves from it, we tend to overlook its wonder. It is inspiring and humbling to look into the intricacy of a leaf or the mass of a giant, moving sea. 

(13:2) The wonderful thing about these people is that they chose to be students to Jesus. They are not in their homes, gossiping about what they have seen and heard with their neighbors, they are out there, hearing, seeing and learning for themselves. You have to put effort into everything that you do to yield positive results. They gave their time to be taught, and that is not a small gesture. When was the last time you dedicate your day, or even part of it, to be a student? 

(13:3) Jesus begins The Parable of the Sower. Parables in the Bible can be thought of a metaphorical stories which have the purpose of bringing understanding to a complex thought. These parables apply to life now, they are not outdated. Here Jesus is instructing His students for their benefit.

(13:4) This parable pertains to the character of a person. We must be good and productive down to our foundation. If we have healthy roots, we become a healthy plant. If we have healthy habits and intentions, we become a healthy and well-intended person. We cannot be easily swayed from a righteous path, we must be strong and courageous.

This parable explains that if we do not properly align ourselves in life, we will lose the path. When we put little or half-effort, we are not reliable or strong. When we do not make it our mission to make the right choices each time we open our mouths, we get sidetracked by gossip, greed and worry.

You must determine what your values are and you must stand for them. Always. If you are not firm in your own beliefs, it will be easy for anyone to sidetrack you or corrupt your way. You must be a strong and wise individual and you can do this by choosing your values and defending them every day that you live.

(13:5) A person without morals and values will be overtaken by a stronger, likely negative force or person. Without standing for anything, anyone could knock you over; anyone could tell you what to think and why. Be a thoughtful person, learn from the instruction of living.

(13:6)  In difficult times, a weak or corrupted person will wither away. Without courage and justice, you will have nothing. The slightest sign of trouble or danger will overtake you and you will lose the fight. Be knowledgeable. Be strong. Chart a course for your life and stick to it. Be honest, be fair, be progressive.

(13:7) When you do not think and choose the correct path, you often accidentally end up on a bad one. When you do not care or take life seriously, you ruin it for yourself; you make life harder for yourself.

(13:8) This person who fell on good ground became a success. This person had a strong foundation, a purposeful life of good-intention. They were strong and courageous, and the results of such a life are abundant.

(13:9) If you are capable and willing to understand this, understand it! Work for it. Listen to this instruction and apply it to your life.

(13:10) The disciples ask, why do you speak with parables? Perhaps you are wondering the same. Beyond it being beautiful language, what is the purpose? Jesus answers in the following verse.

(13:11-14) Jesus speaks in parables for a specific and careful reason: these parables are easily understood by an active student. Jesus distributes his message to people who want and seek diligently to learn. Many people do not care enough to put in any effort, and for that reason, Jesus needs to distinguish between the workers and the non-workers. Non-workers will not put in the effort and their actions define them fairly. Workers find wisdom and light in the word, their reward for the bit of extra work it takes to interpret it.

Some people have the heart, ears and eyes to learn about God. The Bible finds these people. You can understand the Bible if you truly want and work to, otherwise, it could be the most confusion book you've ever read. Some people read the Bible and get nothing out of it, either because they do not read it thoughtfully and analytically or because they read it just to have passed their eyes over the words without interpretation.

(13:15) These days especially, people do not make time for learning the word of God. Life is difficult for much of the world because they do not dedicate themselves.

(13:16) Jesus is saying, if you are hearing this, if you are listening and interpreting this... welcome! 

(13:17) It was a uniquely special opportunity for these disciples to see Jesus but he was readying them to continue teaching His word after we was gone. He was reminding them to appreciate this time with Him, this instruction coming directly from Him, because they will need endurance and faith to continue on without Him. We have the word of God, we should receive this same message: we have a unique opportunity to work for God, to accomplish wonderful things for Him, by Him, with Him. 

(13:18) If you are reading and studying the word... wonderful, continue. Jesus explains the Parable because He is asked to. God will always make something clearer to you when you work for it, when you are passionate about it.

(13:19) This part of the parable speaks particularly about people who have no knowledge of the word of God, they are easily led onto a difficult path.

(13:20-21) This part of the parable speaks about people who are happy to live on the surface. They say they believe in things but there is no evidence of it in their heart. They flit from idea to idea when it sounds good to them, but they never defined their values and therefore they cannot hold to them.

(13:22) This part of the parable is about people who give in to greed and wealth, material possession, because they are not careful to realize that love and honesty are the true wealth.

(13:23) When you work to become an honest, fair and compassionate person, your character changes the world by changing the lives of the people you encounter. You spread what has been given to you, what you have worked for, so that the lives of those around you can improve too.

(13:24) These pieces of scripture really describe the world as it is. The "Wheat" are the good humans, the "Tares" are the bad. God created the Earth and placed humankind on it. 

(13:25) And then humankind became corrupted by their ability to be greedy for wealth and power and to be selfish. A mess was created by evil. Sometimes we think about evil as "Satan" but more importantly, we must understand what Satan stands for. Satan is evil because what he believes in is evil: power, greed, confusion over wisdom, division among people and these concepts really made a mess of the world and of humanity.

(13:26) Over time, nearly all (if not all) people became possessors of both good and bad character. Evil living among good, good living among evil. A mixture of the two coexisting.

(13:27) This verse reminds me of a common discussion among people today. People wonder, how did this happen? How did evil become so prevalent in the world?

(13:28) God tells the truth, an enemy corrupted the good. The enemy was able to corrupt the good because God allows us to be our true selves. Allowing people to be their true selves means allowing people to choose to be... not good. It means allowing people to choose evil. And evil corrupts.

In the parable, the servant asks if he should take all of the tares out of the field but God says no, let them remain in the next verse.

(13:29) God did not want to eliminate the evil people because he understands that good people can do evil things sometimes unless they have an opportunity to learn to be and do better. He did not want to remove any people in case a mistake was made and a good person was confused for a bad one. Each individual is so important to Him, He does not want to lose anybody and He is very careful to protect us.

(13:30) Let the bad and the good live together for awhile so that they can learn from each other. We become really true, authentic people during our time on Earth. Our choices define us. When we make hard decisions for the right reason, we become better and living among evil gives us that opportunity. God will gather up His children and continue to keep them safe under His wing, but first we live through this opportunity to earn it... to choose it.

(13:31-32) The Parable of the Mustard Seeds explains this: God chooses the small and meek to do great and wonderful things because the people who struggle often have the purest, strongest message. God says, you may start small, you may feel small, but with me (with Him), you will become so strong.

(13:33) Like the Mustard Seed, God's way will grow and spread and become great in you and in what you produce because of it. He guides you at every decision. He brings into your life people and situations who can benefit from your specific qualities. He makes you a helper and a healer and gives you an ultimate purpose.

(13:34) Jesus continues speaking in parables to get really strong, complex ideas across in a simple manner for His students. 

(13:35) Jesus fulfills prophecy. He brings truth to a world which badly lacked it without Him.

(13:36) Jesus ultimately wants everyone to understand. He will explain and explain until it is understood. He comes back to the Parable of the Tares to ensure that it is understood fully and properly.

(13:37) Those who are good and do good are of God.

(13:38) Those who are bad and do bad are not of God.

(13:39) The harvest in the parable speaks of the final days when God will judge everybody for their good and bad actions. The good go with Him, the bad just go away!

(13:40) A reiteration: the bad will be gone.

(13:41) God will do a complete job of separating good and bad.

(13:42) The bad are going to be extinguished... turned to nothing. The people who choose to do evil and delight in hurting others will no longer have their chance.

(13:43) Those who are good will eternally shine. They are beautiful and brilliant and will be loved by God forever. If you're hearing this, God says, hear it... envelope yourself in His promises.

(13:44) Doing good is the true treasure which buys you a greater reward than you can even conceive of. Let humanity and compassion be your values and you will be rewarded. But do it without seeking a reward! Do it because you believe it's right.

(13:45-46) You are God's prized possession. He loves to have you. He will do anything for you, you are his jewel. 

(13:47-52) God reassures us: Good and Bad will be separated and the good will be protected. Make sure you understand that: Good wins over evil. He will go through his treasures (humankind) and he will care for them and place them exactly where they wish and choose to be.

(13:53) Jesus accomplished His mission, He taught what He wanted to teach and he moved along so that He could spread His message. He wants everyone to hear this message which teaches truth and wisdom.

(13:54-58) Jesus returned to where He grew up and people have a difficult time associating the young boy they knew with this Son of God. Jesus teaches us that sometimes those closest to us have a difficult time seeing us as warriors (for good!) because they know us from our small and humble beginnings. Sometimes it will be easier and more profound for you to work away from those who know you best. People might not believe you, they might be jealous of you, and they might just have a hard time separating you from the brilliant word of God that you speak. 

For Jesus this happened on a larger scale, but keep in mind that you can be more than people expect of you. Do not be held down if you are becoming a better more vocal person and people do not readily accept it. You can be great and it might be easier for you in a place where no one associates you with who you were.

NT: The Book Of Matthew, Chapter 12

Matthew 12:1-50

(12:1) Jesus and the disciples are walking together on the Sabbath: the holy day set aside for God established in the Old Testament. In a busy and constant world, this day can be celebrated in the name of God but you can get so much out of it for yourself. It is a day to prioritize time for spirituality, for thought and work with a spiritual conscious. It is a time to realign how you are living with how you should be living. Our lives should be spent constantly working in God's name, our job is to contribute to the betterment of those around us.

(12:2) The Pharisees have returned and are again waiting for Jesus to do something they can accuse Him of. It's internally toxic to be this way: constantly looking for negativity in a thing or person who in this case, has none. You stunt yourself when instead of focusing on where you can make progress, you focus on where someone else is not. 

(12:3-4) Jesus begins answering their question with, "Have you not read...?". Here, the Pharisees are a group of people wanting to punish Jesus for not following the law of God, and yet they continue to make mistakes that reveal that they do not even read the word of God.

Jesus is referencing (1 Samuel 21) in this reference.

(12:5) Perhaps you are wondering, how can a person "profane" the Sabbath yet be blameless? The answer is because if you are working kindness and wisdom, you are blameless. You should never take a break from important work such as that involving God.

(12:6) Here Jesus is saying that he has more authority than the temple. Jesus is speaking from God, and God through Him therefore, if Jesus says it is okay for his disciples to eat... it is certainly acceptable.

(12:7) Here we are reminded of what God ultimately wants from us: love and works in love. If we are bringing peace and wisdom to others, that is our greatest gift to Him. Our sacrifices, such as not eating on certain days, accomplish no work.

(12:8) We are told that Jesus is Jesus and God is God on every day, even the Sabbath. What can we take from that reminder? We can understand from it that God does not rest (in works in His name!) on certain days and he does not expect you to either. 

(12:9-10) The Pharisees do not listen. They still follow Jesus and look for reasons to accuse him of wrongdoing. 

(12:11) Jesus is teaching them that no matter what special day or rest day we are living through, there is never a time or day when it is acceptable not to do good when you have the ability and opportunity to. This is a common sense lesson. If you are doing good things for people only because you are following rules in the hope that you will be rewarded, your selfish nature will destroy your chance. Do good: heal and teach every day, every minute if you are given the opportunity. Do the healing and teaching because you are compassionate, not because you HAVE to on CERTAIN days.

(12:12) It is lawful to do good on the Sabbath... you would save an animal, certainly you would save a human, too. Jesus saves us every day and on any occasion, we must return the favor when we can.

(12:13) Jesus heals the hand. This can be interpreted as a metaphor. Hands are a symbol for working. Jesus is teaching people with impaired understanding of when it is acceptable to work. Therefore, He finds men who do not know when to work they have broken or withered hands as a symbol. Jesus fixes the situation by making clear the circumstances in which it is right to work. He heals the hand. He heals the working.

(12:14) The Pharisees still want to destroy Him. Ensure that you always have good intentions. Do not work to tear down or ruin other people. If you are working negatively, you are not working but destroying.

(12:15) Jesus was aware of his enemies and He was aware of their evil intentions. That did not stop Him from continuing His important work. He moved on, he withdrew himself from the negativity. He did not stay to argue. He stated his intentions, he was precise and clear and then He got back to work. 

You also should not dwell on negativity that might be surrounding you. If you have been honest and fair, you should happily and swiftly move along in your journey.

(12:16-21) Jesus does not seek to be a celebrity. His mission is to work and he never gets distracted. He never desires any reward for himself. He does not want wealth or fame. He wishes to fulfill the prophesy that He will teach to the world the gentle way of God.

(12:22) I believe that blind and mute can be metaphors. Of course, God can heal all ailments but there is a deeper message in these examples of Jesus' healing. 

Consider that blind stands for a person unaware and unable to interpret their surroundings or a specific situation. Even in these days, there are many people who can see but are lost on their journey. They are not seeing the ways they can make their lives better but are instead spinning in the same slow, unproductive circle. Jesus can heal this. Jesus brings understanding and then he guides us down the enlightened path. He becomes our sight when we trust Him.

Mute can stand for a person who perhaps can understand and interpret a situation but remains silent. This person might be without the courage or compassion to speak for those who need their support. God can give us that courage and can help us find compassion in ourselves. We must learn that each person around us has their own perspective of life and we must be aware of how that can make a situation complex (this also is part of sight!). God can give us the voice we need to teach the lessons that need to be heard.

There is so much work to be done, when we open our eyes and use our voices, we contribute to carrying the load.

(12:23-24) People are amazed and speculate but the Pharisees remain eager to ruin Jesus' reputation. They are eager to diminish Jesus because they want to retain their power. Their minds are closed to anything but strict law without common sense. Their hearts and minds are not authentic. They want power and control through religion. Jesus does not want power and control. He wants to improve life for everybody and he has a lot of advice on how to accomplish that. Power-hungry and greedy people do not understand doing work without receiving material possessions of wealth and power.

(12:25-28) Jesus is back, quickly and accurately, with common sense. The Pharisees accuse Him of working for the devil, but Jesus says, if I am an evil person, why would I do good works? That is contradictory. If Jesus were of the devil and did good work... their mission would fail. Common sense.

If the Pharisees think Jesus is doing the work of the devil, they must be doing much, much worse! 

(12:29) You cannot possibly work against someone by accomplishing their goals with them. Likewise, you cannot work with someone by destroying their possibility for success.

(12:30) Choose a side because Jesus and God are on a mission and evil people are on a mission as well. You cannot work with both. You help one, you harm the other. You cannot choose both sides, it simply does not work.

(12:31) We are forgiven for all sins, but if we are shown the spirit of God and we choose to reject what he stands for, we have chosen not to be a part of what He is. If we do evil things continually, and we know better, we are not asking to be forgiven and therefore we will not be.

(12:32) When God shows himself and his peaceful and wise ways to us we have the chance, the perfect opportunity to join Him. If God shows peace and wisdom and we reject it, we receive the rejection we chose.

If we choose good but come up a little short while we are actively trying, God has forgiveness and patience for us to claim. If we choose evil, willingly and knowingly, we do not receive the gifts and guidance of God... because we have told Him that we do not want or value it.

(12:33) You are defined by your actions. If you produce happiness in yourself and spread it to others, you bear good fruit. If you produce evil and spread it to others, you bear bad fruit. Our actions let other people know who we are.

(12:34) An evil person cannot produce good. It is fake, false and weak.

(12:35) Our hearts, minds and souls reveal who we are. We cannot go against our true nature. We can correct and aid the areas where we need improvements if we want to, with God, but we cannot be evil and be counted as good. You cannot trick God and you cannot trick a perceptive human of God. 

(12:36) Any action you do should have a purpose, an intention of doing and being good. God knows why we do what we do, why we choose what we choose, why we act how we act, so we cannot fool him. If we do something without reason, He knows. If we do something with evil intent, He knows. If we are true and good, He knows!

Do not be idle. Work. Work constantly trying to be a better person for those around you. The whole world needs wisdom and love and you can be the instrument through which God delivers it to them.

(12:37) The work that your voice does will be judged and that judgement can either bring reward or punishment. It is not a threat from God but a consequence we choose to receive. You cannot be celebrated and rewarded for doing evil because God does not do evil or support evil. 

(12:38-39) A lot of people do not believe in God because they want to test Him. They test and try to tempt Him... but God will remain silent to the beggars. God put signs of love and wisdom all around us, if we diligently seek Him, we WILL find Him and in the process, we will have shown Him that we care enough to trust Him. We should God that we are willing to work in His name without the tangible, visible promise of receiving reward. God blesses work that does not seek a selfish reward.

(12:40-42) Jesus tells them that if they want a sign, they will receive the best sign, His resurrection. In time. The son of God was about to RISE from death before their eyes, they were a blessed generation and received the most brilliant, clear sign from God than anyone before had received. They received a sign greater than many generations after them would receive. And yet, many of them will waste their sign. God wants us to love him without an obvious sign. The love is more authentic.

People from earlier generations, the queen of the south and the people Nineveh, received signs and believed and yet here in Matthew 12, these people receive the best sign, much greater than any before (Jesus) and many still do not believe. This scripture speaks of those people viewing the generation of Jesus and after and wondering, how could they go wrong when they saw and knew of such a spirit?

(12:43) Evil always yearns for a place to corrupt. Not everybody is on a path of good and worse, not everybody wants to be on a path of good. You have to be aware of this and you have to be vigilant that evil does not find a place in you. 

(12:44-45) You have to always work to be good. If you learn the right way of living and then reject it, you are a worse evil. 

(12:46-50) Jesus is a beautiful spirit. Here he proclaims that we are all His family. We are loved by Him as passionately and perfectly as one loves a parent or a sibling. We are OF Him. Be WITH Him, no thing or person can ever love you as intensely as He can and will love you. He has patience with you, wisdom to teach you, forgiveness to give you. You are of His blood, you cannot be more closely related to Him than you are. His love is infallible, constant and guiding. Learn it, accept it, be it, embrace it... spread it.