A critical verse, verse 15 says: “But what about you”, he asked. “Who do you say that I am?” Then verse 16 says: Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
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The seven loaves and seven baskets left over may be a sign about the “completeness” of Jesus' ministry or a reference to the historic seven surrounding Gentile nations.
Jesus taught that our hearts are naturally drawn to evil and spiritual uncleanliness. He made clear that it is not how well we observe outward codes that draws us closer to God.
The disciples had just seen Jesus miraculously feed thousands of people, something only God had done in Moses' time. They had then seen Jesus walking on water. Again this was something the Jews believed only God could do (Job 38:16, Habakkuk 3:15).
We noted that Jesus had just suffered rejection in his home town of Nazareth (13:53-58) and now mourns the death of his rejected great messenger John the Baptist. Yet he continues his vital work for the care of souls.
It does not matter whether one is an expert in seeking this treasure or merely stumble across it! All that matters is recognizing its great value and grasping it with both hands. Jesus is the great treasure and nothing more can be important than following him.
Again the kingdom of heaven grows quietly, inconspicuously, not as an observable military subjection, but unseen, permeating inside, winning the hearts of people.
Indeed, the quote from Isaiah was used by Paul to explain that the Jews would ultimately be restored.
This generation had experienced in their midst, the cleansing power of Jesus, the Son of God. Yet they chose not to be filled with Christ, but rather to remain empty of his all powerful work of redemption.
The Pharisees continue to make false accusations of Jesus but now of the very worst kind. Here however, Jesus goes on the offensive. He declares their arguments not only do not make sense, but show their hearts to be evil and their souls headed for destruction.
1. The "expert" Pharisees failed to recognise Jesus as the long awaited Messiah.
2. Jesus showed the ignorance of the Pharisees about the Scriptures.
3. Jesus' yoke of discipleship was a light burden compared with the Pharisees' oral laws.
4. The Pharisees, experts on keeping the Law, virtually broke all 10 Commandments!
Earlier we saw John the Baptist seeking confirmation about who Jesus was. We noted that John had not seen any of the judgment that is foretold about the Messiah. In this passage we certainly see Jesus giving judgment on the unbelieving Galilean cities.
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The people had the preconceived racially proud views of how God would send the Messiah to raise up Israel over other nations. Their hard hearts could not accept a Messiah who did not fit in with their view of how the Messiah should act. He should dance to their tune.
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Jesus makes it clear that we must always confess Christ as denying him may have eternal consequences. But it is more than confessing Christ with our words. We must confess Christ with our lives, our deeds, our time and our priorities.
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We observed that Jesus included among his unusual group, rough unlearned fishermen, a despised tax collector, an outlaw zealot and even a man, who would betray him
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Jesus was looking for their declaration of faith in him, the very means of their healing; eg v.22 “your faith has made you well.”
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Jesus was doing something new with his teaching, healing and atonement of sin. The Old Testament prophesied about this.
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But Jesus made the cost of discipleship clear, that such worldly expectations would hit a brick wall.
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The Centurion recognized that Jesus had power from God over illness and demons. Just as the centurion could command authority over men by a mere word, so too could Jesus exercise authority over illness and demons by a mere word, even over long distances. Jesus was astonished at the centurion's faith.
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But when winter came and its banks overflowed with water from the swollen River Jordan, it was a different matter. Wise builders in this locality would dig down to the underlying bedrock and build their foundations upon that.
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