All signs point to Jesus: A journey through the book of Matthew, chapter 17-18

 

CHAPTER 17

I neglected to post last week’s blog since I’ve been so busy moving.  As renters, the owners of our residence decided to sell so we had to be out by 45 days. It has been a whirlwind  of a busy  month to say the least. 

So I will cover 2 chapters this week. Actually from here on out until Easter week, I’ll be covering more than just one chapter. 

I think its appropriate to take a pause here and reflect why I even started studying the book of Matthew in the first place.   It was after I learned my new method of bible study. It took me over a year to study the gospel of Matthew using that method.  I really wanted to know who this Jesus of the Bible was more. If the Bible is a book about God , then I wanted to learn more about his attributes in Jesus.   Throughout the book of Matthew, there are signs that point to Jesus as the true Messiah King, hence the devotional’s name, ‘all signs point to Jesus. Chapter 17 does a great job of describing these glories of Jesus Christ. 

First let’s review the questions (answer on your own, then look at the answers) to understand the content of the chapter. 

QUESTIONS 

Q 91: What happened on that mountain?

Why had Jesus’ disciples been unable to heal the boy?

How does the reaction of Jesus’ disciples show that they understood what He was saying to them?

Why did Jesus pay the temple tax when He was exempt because He was God’s Son?

Read 17:1–13.

Q 91: What happened on that mountain?

A 91: Jesus revealed His identity as the Son of God by letting His divine glory shine through His human body. He spoke with Moses and

Elijah because He was about to fulfill all the promises of the Old Testament, including His death and resurrection. God the Father’s voice was heard out of the cloud declaring Jesus’ true identity, stating that Jesus perfectly satisfied God’s will, and commanding that they listen to what Jesus taught them, especially about His coming death and resurrection.

Jesus’ disciples are unable to heal a demon-possessed boy.

Read 17:14–20.

Q 92:

A 92:

Why had Jesus’ disciples been unable to heal the boy?

They still had the authority from Jesus to do so (see 10:1). But this was a particularly tough case, and the disciples were not successful driving the spirit out right away. They grew discouraged and didn’t believe they would be able to heal him. Their focus was on the wrong place. They were focused on themselves when they should have focused on God through prayer.

Jesus foretells His suffering, death, and resurrection again.

Read 17:22–23.

Q 93: How does the reaction of Jesus’ disciples show that they understood what He was saying to them?

A 93: They were greatly distressed to hear His prediction. If they thought He meant something less severe than the shameful sufferings He would face, they would not have been so greatly distressed.

Jesus is asked about paying the temple tax.

Read 17:24–27.

Q 94:

A 94:

Why did Jesus pay the temple tax when He was exempt because He was God’s Son?

Jesus wanted to avoid causing offense to those who did not know He was God’s Son, so He went ahead and paid the temple tax, but He did so in a miraculous way. This is important because Jesus wants nothing to stand in the way of people finding salvation through faith in Him.

© 2019 Concordia Publishing House. Scripture: ESV®.

Throughout chapter 17, we see the glories of Jesus and as we behold the glories of Jesus, we become more like him.  In the transfiguration, v. 1-13, we see the divine GLORY of the Son. We see Moses (the law) and Elijah (the prophets) and Jesus who is the fulfillment of the law AND the prophets. 

In verse 14-20, we behold the patient glory of the Son. 

In verse 22-23, as Jesus predicts his death, we behold the willing sacrifice of the Son AND The certain victory of the Son.

And finally by paying the temple tax, we behold the humble authority of the Son. 

I love how Jesus uses a fish to bring about this miracle. Again, he is sovereign of the sea, yet he graciously stoops for our salvation. 

How do we respond? 

When I see Jesus, our God who endures my unbelief patiently, I see myself who loses faith so easily. When we were scrambling to find another home, it almost seemed hopeless at one point, as one application got denied, and we were quickly losing time. I know that God had already prepared a place for us, but during those times, it was difficult to see it.  I had to keep reminding myself to focus on the Lord who provides.  Jesus tells his disciples, all you need is faith as small as a mustard seed. Was it the amount of faith I was lacking? Jesus says no, it is where your faith is because, a little bit of faith in a great God can accomplish great thinks.  Nothing is impossible for the person who trusts in the power of God to accomplish the will of the God.  And so, we pressed on, looking for rentals, and submitting our application to the next.  And lo and behold, the Lord provided. God is good. 

CHAPTER 18

Questions

Q 95: How do Christians “turn and become like children” (v. 3)?

What is Jesus emphasizing with His talk of cutting off our hand or foot and tearing out our eye?

Why is it important to recognize God’s concern about each and every believer no matter how little?

Why does Jesus want us to drive unrepentant sinners out of the congregation?

What does Jesus’ parable of the unforgiving servant mean?

THE FOURTH DISCOURSE: THE CHURCH IS FOUNDED ON

THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS

Jesus begins His fourth long discourse dealing with how Christians should treat one another.

Read 18:1–6.

Q 95: How do Christians “turn and become like children” (v. 3)?

A 95: Jesus points to the trust and dependence young children have in their parents and teachers. We often value our self-reliance as adults, but to be great in God’s eyes requires humble, childlike faith and trust in Christ alone. This humility before God is the foundation for being believers who confess our sinfulness and unworthiness, trust in Jesus Christ alone for salvation, and interact with others from that place of humility.

Jesus addresses temptations to sin—and how we must watch ourselves carefully so we do not lead others into temptation.

Read 18:7–9.

Q 96:

What is Jesus emphasizing with His talk of cutting off our hand or foot and tearing out our eye?

A 96:

God cares about each believer, especially those who stray from faith.

He is making us aware of how serious sins are—especially the sins we commit in front of others. We tend to downplay the influence of our sins, but we must not do that—especially in front of children, who often model their future adult lives off of what they see in us.

Read 18:10–14.

Q 97: Why is it important to recognize God’s concern about each and every believer no matter how little?

A 97: Christ wants each of us to hold that same love and concern for our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, that we may pay attention to one another and go in search of lost sheep as well.

Jesus teaches us how to reconcile with a fellow Christian who sins against us.

Read 18:15–20.

Q 98:

A 98:

Why does Jesus want us to drive unrepentant sinners out of the congregation?

Our Lord’s goal and ours must not be to cast away sinners, but to humbly break through their unrepentance and save them. That

is why He urges us to start one on one—with the hopes that the sinning brother or sister will listen to us, repent, and be reconciled. If they do not, we are to bring along a couple of witnesses so as

not to overwhelm the sinner, but to impress the seriousness of this issue and our desire for their salvation. The congregation is brought in when the sinner refuses to repent. This shows that by their unrepentance, they are excluding themselves from heaven. The goal, as always, is to bring them to repentance so God can restore them. This can only be done with the humility of a little child.

Peter asks how many times we should forgive someone who sins against us.

Read 18:21–35.

Q 99: What does Jesus’ parable of the unforgiving servant mean?

A 99: The king is God the Father, and each of us is the first servant who owes God a debt we cannot possibly ever hope to repay (that is the reason hell is eternal punishment—no amount of our suffering is

enough to pay for all our sins). But in mercy, God forgives it all. He now expects us in humility and gratitude to forgive the much smaller debt of sins others sin against us. If we refuse, our Father will not forgive us, and we will spend eternity in hell.

© 2019 Concordia Publishing House. Scripture: ESV®.

In chapter 18, we learn what it is to become a Christian and how do we act as a loving Church.   We are called to be a child of the King and  have a humble heart like a child, but not a childish mind.  (V.1-5)  As a loving church, we protect one another (v.7-10)

The church loves one another (v.12-14), as this is how the Father loves his children, then this is how we must love one another.  The church restores one another (v.15-20).  And we forgive one another (v.21-35).  

How should we respond? 

As part of the church, we must care for every individual member. As individual Christians, we must take care not to lead a brother or sister to sin. When I reflect on the forgiveness of God, I see myself who is not so forgiving or quick to judge and so I pray that I may extend forgiveness to others. How is God calling you to more clearly express the love of the father to your church?