In
Matthew 13, we see Jesus, the Storyteller. His stories are ordinary
stories - with an extraordinary message. The stories are human. The
message is divine. They are stories about people. They are stories about
God. Following on from Jesus' parables, we have His return to "His
hometown" (Matthew 13:54). The people were "amazed" at His teaching
(Matthew 13:54), They did not, however, look for a divine explanation.
They looked at Jesus in a human way. They said that He shouldn't be able
to speak like this. They denied Him the right to speak with divine
authority. They did not hear and receive what He said to them. What did
Jesus say about them? "The only place a prophet isn't honoured is in his
hometown and in his own house" (Matthew 13:57). What was the result of
their refusal to recognize Jesus' authority? His power was not released
among them: "He didn't work many miracles there because of their lack of
faith" (Matthew 13:58).
"Be careful! Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!" (Matthew 17:6),. even after there us divine revelation (Matthew 16:17), the influence of evil can be felt (Matthew 16:23), The warning - "Be careful! Watch out ... !" must never be forgotten. Satan is looking for an opportunity to leads us away from the Lord. We must hear what Jesus is saying to us about discipleship (Matthew 16:24), and we must commit ourselves to Him (Matthew 16:25). There is nothing more important than this (Matthew 16:26). If we are to be true followers of Jesus, we must learn to live our lives in the light of eternity (Matthew 16:27). We are to seek revelations of God's eternal Kingdom, revelations which will send us back, from the mountain-top, to live each day for Jesus.
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