Tag: simon

34.q. “I will not deny you!”

Matthew 26:30  And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.” Peter answered him, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.” Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” Peter said to him, “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!” And all the disciples said the same.

 Luke 22:31-32    “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat,  but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”

 Job 19:13-16    “He has put my brothers far from me, and those who knew me are wholly estranged from me.  My relatives have failed me, my close friends have forgotten me.

 Psalms 69:20     Reproaches have broken my heart, so that I am in despair. I looked for pity, but there was none, and for comforters, but I found none.

 Ezekiel 34:5-6     So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts. My sheep were scattered;  they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with none to search or seek for them.

 Exodus 19:8    All the people answered together and said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do.” And Moses reported the words of the people to the LORD.

 1 Corinthians 10:12    Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.

Peter, not convinced of his weakness, or that any temptation could make him guilty of such base conduct so as to deny Christ, claims with great confidence that he will not deny Christ even in the face of death. We are frequently ignorant of our self-confidence which leads us to become over-confident and safe from being tempted away from following, obeying, trusting, and relying on Jesus Christ alone. Those that are least safe are those who in themselves think they are secure. 

We never know when or what trial or trouble may fall upon us. We never know how feeble and weak we are until we are tried. Reliance upon our own strength is an act of ignorance of the need for Jesus Christ in all things at all times. 

It doesn’t matter what we are engaged in doing, when we go it alone and in our own strength, own ideas, own self-reliance, and own self-interest we expose our lack of reliance on Christ. How many days do we start in our own strength and our own ideas? Can we not ask at the beginning of the day before we are even out of bed for Jesus to guide our thoughts, lead our steps, and keep our hearts and minds free from that which does not honor and glorify Him alone? Can we not ask Him to show us our weaknesses and for His strengthening of our minds? Can we not ask Him to show us where we are being self-reliant? Can we not ask for His protection over the day? Can we not ask Him to continually speak into our hearts and minds? Yes, we can if we would just do it.

34. “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”

 

Matthew 17:24  When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax went up to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the tax?” He said, “Yes.” And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tax? From their sons or from others?” And when he said, “From others,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free. However, not to give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to them for me and for yourself.”

 Matthew 3:15    But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented.

 Matthew 22:21   They said, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

 Romans 13:6-7    For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing.  Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

This was a tribute or payment of a peculiar kind, being half a shekel, (that is, about fifteen pence,) which every master of a family used to pay yearly to the service of the temple: to buy salt, and little things not otherwise provided for. It seems to have been a voluntary thing, which custom, rather than any law, had established. Peter is asked for this tax and he is going to ask Jesus about it, but Jesus spoke first. “What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tax? From their sons or from others?” Do they ask of this tax from people belonging to their family or of people not belonging to their family? The obvious answer is, of those not belonging to their family. This tax was for the purpose of the use of the house of God – the temple. Jesus being the Son of God would therefor be free from any obligation of paying this tax. Rather than give these people occasion to say He was disposing the temple and its service, and as well teaching His disciples to do the same, He sends Peter on a fishing trip. 

How illustrious a degree of knowledge and power did our Lord here discover! Knowledge penetrating into this animal, though beneath the waters; and power, in directing this very fish to Peter’s hook, though he himself was at a distance! How must this have encouraged both Peter and his brethren in a firm dependance on Divine Providence! “Jesus chose to provide this tribute-money by a miracle, either because the disciple who carried the bag was absent, or because he had not as much money as was necessary. Further, he chose to provide it by this particular miracle, rather than any other, because it was of such a kind as to demonstrate that he was the Son of the Great Monarch worshipped in the temple, who rules the universe. Wherefore, in the very manner of his paying this tax, he showed Peter that he was free from all taxes; and at the same time gave his followers this useful lesson, that, in matters which affect their property in a smaller degree, it is better to recede somewhat from their just rights, than, by stubbornly insisting on them, to offend their brethren, or disturb the state.” — Macknight.

33.c. “For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards”

 

Mat 2:23   And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, “He shall be called a Nazarene.”

Matthew 13:53  And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there, and coming to his hometown he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.

 Matthew 11:6   And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”

 Isaiah 53:3    He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

 Mark 6:3    Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.

 Luke 7:23     And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”

 John 6:42    They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”

 1 Corinthians 1:23-28  but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,  but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.  For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.  For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.  But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;  God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are,

A miracle conception, humble birth, the Son of God, with brothers and sisters of a carpenters family, in a small village of little recognition, Nazareth and spoken of by prophets is where Jesus seems to have the same type of rejection as was from the Jewish leaders. Their unbelief limited the mighty works that He had done in other villages. They were offended that He was teaching them as one with authority, wisdom, and understanding. They could only see Him as Jesus the son of Joseph and Mary. Who was He to come back home and proclaim things of God? 

Rejection of Jesus results in a continuation of life without Him. Many think life is fine this way and they close their ears and eyes to things of God. Like these people from His hometown who rejected Him personally are those who now continually reject the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They say it is a made-up story, a fairytale. They seem to have made up their minds and become firmer and firmer in their rejection of the Son of God. They find no value and purpose in Jesus in their lives. 

To those who believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, He is more than just the Son of God. He is their redeemer, friend, power, strength, joy, peace, courage, and rest. He gives them life, a life more abundant and purposeful. He has given them hope of eternal life. He gives them strength to face all trials and troubles because He said He would never leave them or forsake them. He gives them peace that passes all understanding. He gives them light in a dark and lost world. He guides their paths through this life. He has promised that He will be with them forever and ever. Though He cannot be seen, He is more real than what we can see and touch. He is able to redeem the vilest and lost person and give that person new life. How can anyone reject Jesus Christ and the gospel of redemption, salvation, forgiveness, and eternal life? We do well to remember to honor and glorify the Son of God, Jesus, in all we say, think and do.

30.m. “Immediately they left their nets and followed him”

 

Matthew 4:18  While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

 Mark 10:28-31   Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.”  Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel,  who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.  But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

 Luke 14:33    So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

God usually calls people as they are busy doing something. Jesus called the apostles as they were casting a net into the sea or mending their nets. “They were busy in a lawful occupation when he called them to be ministers: our Lord does not call idlers but fishers.” (Spurgeon) Look at men of God; Saul was looking for his father’s donkeys, David was keeping his father’s sheep, The shepherds were guarding their flocks, Amos was farming in Tekoa, Matthew was working at the tax collector’s table, Moses was tending his father-in-law’s flock, Gideon was threshing wheat, Abraham was a very busy man with large herds and flocks, Luke was a physician, Paul was a high ranking official. All of these men heard the calling of God and responded to that calling with obedience. Therein is the difference between those that hear and obey and those that hear and don’t. It does not matter when or where you hear God’s calling of you to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. It does matter what you do after you hear Him calling. People deny hearing it, deafen their ears to hear it, neglect it, cast it aside as foolishness, delay acting upon it, and a host of other “not nows”. The day of salvation is now. Hebrews 3:7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.

“Whom shall I send”

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost”

Exodus 3:4  When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “ Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”

Genesis 22:1     After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”

Genesis 22:11     But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”

Genesis 46:2     And God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, “Jacob, Jacob.” And he said, “Here I am.”

1 Samuel 3:4    Then the LORD called Samuel, and he said, “Here I am!”

1 Samuel 3:10    And the LORD came and stood, calling as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant hears.”

Acts 9:4    And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?

Acts 10:3    About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him, “Cornelius.”

Isaiah 6:8     And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”

Mat 4:18  While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.  And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”  Immediately they left their nets and followed him.  And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them.  Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Matthew 9:9     As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.

Mark 2:14    And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.

John 1:43  The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.”

There was a Call from God and the reply was “here am I”.  There is a call from Jesus was “come follow me” and the response was “they followed”.  These calls came as these men were in their normal everyday activities.  Their responses would indicate a willingness and even possibly wanting to hear from God.  I am not so sure any of them were sitting around and had a conscious thought “if God calls to me I am going to say here am I”.  I think they were more inclined to believe there was a living God and they had reverence in their heart for Him in such a way that their ears, eyes, heart,  mind, and soul were open.

Here I am – I don’t know what you want but I want you to know I am listening.

Here I am – I know you are God or from God

Here I am – I want to hear what you say

Here I am – I am willing to do what you ask

Here I am – I am willing to go where you send me

Here I am – I want to do what you ask of me

Here I am – lead me, I want to follow you

Here I am – use me

I wonder if our ears are able to hear God calling.  I wonder if we are seeking to hear God speak into our life.  I wonder if we are willing to be led.  I wonder if we would follow.  I wonder if we want to be used by God for His glory and honor.

It is so easy to get caught up so tight in life and things of this world that we have closed our ears and are deaf to God’s calling.  Is our heart so hardened that His call and love falls on a heart of stone and deaf ears?

Many, me included, had hearts hard as stone and were not giving a single conscious thought about God when His word broke through the heart of stone and brought understanding and knowledge of the need for forgiveness and salvation.  What we see many times as a heart of stone no man could change, God, in a moment, softens their heart to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

When we think there is no possible way fora lost sinner’s  soul to respond “here am I,, save me” God does the impossible work in their heart and mind so that they see the need.  They are changed in that moment of confession and trust in Jesus Christ.  Never to be the same again.  At least we hope not.

It is an intentional walk with God each day to have our ears open to hear His word come alive into our life.  It is an intentional heart and mind that seeks and desires to hear and be lead by God.

Be intentional in reverence, listening, following, and obeying His call into your life each day.

The Betrayer

“ and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.”

John 6:70  Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.”  He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray him.

John 13:18    I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But the Scripture will be fulfilled, ‘He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.’

John 17:12    While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.

Matthew 10:1  And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction.  The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;  Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

1 John 3:8    Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.

Betraying Christ is nothing any of us want to do.  It would be the farthest thing from our mind.  It is not something we give much thought.  Yet I still wonder about us betraying service to Him.  Do we honor Him  with our life  Do we commit to this with all our heart, mind and soul?  Are our days filled with this thought of serving Him?  Do we follow and obey Him? Are we seeking to hear Him speak into our lives through His word each day?  Are our heart and mind  open to hear His leading?  Are we betraying Him by not giving Him our all everyday?  Obviously there is room for us to grow in our service to Him.  We need a heart deep desired commitment infused into our mind and soul.  Losing sight of the thing of this world and keeping focus on Him and the world to come.