King James Bible Study – [Mark 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.]
Date: Tuesday, October 19, 2021
Chapters: Matthew 15, Mark 7
Message: Above And Beyond
Hello My Friend,
As I was reading the chapters for today, I kept thinking of what was going on when we first heard about Covid and how it was spreading throughout the country, all we kept hearing was, “Wash your hands!” Now, I am all for washing hands, I cannot stand when people do not wash their hands, especially after they come out of the bathroom, but they were a little obsessive about it. Now, as Christians, we know that we are clean, at least, our soul is, through our faith and trust in Jesus Christ as our Saviour, and that we do not need to do anything to keep our salvation. However, there is something truly incredible that happens when we allow Christ to work in our lives, He gives us the strength to endure the labor that comes with our faith, [1 Corinthians 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.]
Yes, it does take work to be a Christian, and I am not talking about literal work, I am talking about going above and beyond what is expected of us, at least, where Christ stands. It is a sad truth that many religions are great at working, but what they are working toward has absolutely no value to God unless Christ is in it, and He definitely knows the difference, [Matthew 15:8-9 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. 9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.]
Remember, when we accept Jesus Christ as our Saviour we are not saved through any works of our own, it is solely by the grace of God through our faith in the Gospel of Christ. You see, most religions are not based on what the Bible says are acceptable, but rather what man says is acceptable. The Pharisees and scribes praised themselves for all their traditions, believing that the way they were living was acceptable to God. As we continue in the reading of the Gospels, The Pharisees, in particular, as they watch the disciples sit to eat, got offended.
[Mark 7:1-5 Then came together unto him the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, which came from Jerusalem. 2 And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say, with unwashen, hands, they found fault. 3 For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders. 4 And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups, and pots, brasen vessels, and of tables. 5 Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands?]
[except they wash, they eat not.] To the Pharisees eating without washing hands was a huge insult and defiled everything that was touched. And this was not just running your hands under the water faucet with some soap, this was full immersion in the water. And we know that God had given commands for cleansing themselves when the were ill or unclean, but this went beyond that, and Jesus calls them out on it too, [Matthew 15:3-6 But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? 4 For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. 5 But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; 6 And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.]
[Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.] Those who think that they must add to or change God’s Law, actually insult God by making it look as though He had left something out in His Word. Common sense goes without saying that if we do not clean our bodies, we would be disgusting, but we must also, as I say it, “Clean up our act.”. Most religions are no where close to the doctrine of the Bible, they are in fact, based on traditions taught by man. Jesus knows every one who worships Him in truth, and He will call them out if they are not, [John 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.]
They sing the songs, give the praises, give the tithes and offerings, and say the elaborate prayers, and it is all worthless because they are not worshiping God in truth, they are worshiping Him through their traditions. Let me tell you the ones who are worshiping God in vain will be the first to tell you how offended they are when you point that out. The disciples go up to Jesus and told Him how offended the Pharisees were at the way He was talking to them, [Matthew 15:12-16 Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying? 13 But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up. 14 Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch. 15 Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable. 16 And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding?]
[Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, As I read this I started thinking about what was going on at my job, I had the worst week, three of the worst customers since I started. I was not the first person that they talked to and even if I could give them everything they wanted they still would have given a bad review. Well, I was reprimanded by my supervisor, even though she fully acknowledged that I went above and beyond what was expected of me. I got a little defensive because I knew I did nothing wrong, but perhaps get a little loud with the man because I was trying to get him to hear me. Well, my supervisor got offended by me when I defended myself. Let me tell you, the only reason why people get offended is because they know that what you said to them is true. In fact, until we admit that we are sinners we get offended by those who call us one. Jesus goes on to tell us what it is that actually defiles us, [Mark 7:20-22 And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. 21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:]
[For from within, out of the heart of men,] We all have a little bit of evil in us, and if we are not walking in the Spirit, then we are going to mess up from time to time. Remember, sin is sin, there are no grades to sin with God, it is all the same, evil. It is the Law that teaches us how God wants us to live after we are saved, it is grace that keeps us looking to Jesus, and it is the Spirit that lives inside of us that reminds us that we were once guilty of at least one of these things, but we have been washed, cleansed from them all through our faith in Christ alone, [1 Corinthians 6:9-11 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, 10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.]
Just because we are saved by grace alone, that does not mean that Jesus does not want us to trust Him with everything else. Sometimes, He is going to test our heart to see if we are going to trust Him at all times, even if He does not give us everything we want or even even need. Jesus wanted to show the Jews that their religious traditions were not going to save them, but it will be whoever comes to Him believing in Him will be the ones saved. A Canaanite woman (in Matthew she is known as Greek), came to Jesus seeking help for her daughter.
[Matthew 15:21-28 Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. 23 But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. 24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 25 Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. 26 But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs. 27 And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table. 28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.]
[and to cast it to dogs.] The Jews, while they boasted of being the children of God, gave the name of dogs to the heathens, which is the only reason why Jesus even mentioned dogs. The woman’s faith was so strong that she, recognizing herself as a heathen, unworthy of His help, was willing to take whatever He could give, not for herself, but her daughter, and that is great faith. [O woman, great is thy faith:] I have read this dozens of times, but for the first time I really get what Jesus was doing when He said what He did. First of all, Jesus would never deny anyone who comes to Him regardless of what family they came from. Second, the disciples were the ones who made the comment for Jesus to tell her to leave, He already knew her faith, He wanted them to see it. And third, this is like the woman who thought if she could just touch the hem of His garment that she would be healed. This mother knew that Jesus was the only one who could save her daughter, she was willingly to take whatever she could get from Him to save her. What response was Jesus really looking for when He said to her that He was only sent to the lost sheep of Israel? Humbleness, [James 4:9-10 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.]
Just because people believed that Jesus can heal them, and that He is the Son of God that does not mean they believe Him to be God in the flesh. A man was brought to Jesus, he was deaf and stuttered when he spoke. Through this rather odd illustration, Jesus heals the man completely, fully knowing where his faith was.
[Mark 7:31-37 And again, departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, he came unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis. 32 And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech him to put his hand upon him. 33 And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue; 34 And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened. 35 And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain. 36 And he charged them that they should tell no man: but the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it; 37 And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.]
[and put his fingers into his ears,] Can you just imagine what the people were thinking when they saw Him do that? I always wonder where I suddenly got this quick wit with a little bit of sarcasm from, I guess I have been hanging around Jesus too long. They wanted to see Jesus do these weird things as if He could not just speak and it be done, which is why He sighed when He looked up to the heavens as He spoke, “Ephphatha,”. I like that word, Ephphatha, “Be opened!” Open your eyes and ears, pay attention to what is going on, live by faith, not by sight, [John 20:29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.]
[And were beyond measure astonished,] I have to tell you, that my supervisor may give me a hard time, but the people who sign my paychecks know, and so does she, that for over a month that I had absolutely no contact from anyone and yet my numbers were just as good or if not better than someone who had access to every help they could get. She is still beyond measure astonished that my two month evaluation had very high scores. Now, I am not boasting about anything, I know that the only reason my numbers were good had to do with the fact that I take Jesus with me. Even though my numbers had gone way down last week, I still know my place, that I did go above and beyond what was expected of me, and all they have to do to see that is to hear the conversations. We will never please the world because they are always going to be offended by the fact that we belong to Jesus, and because we belong to Him, they know we are blessed, [Revelation 22:14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.]
Today’s Prayer: God, Thank You for Your mercies and grace, and for the knowledge You have given us to be able to fellowship with You one on one. We are not only a saved soul when we come to You through Your Son, we are one of Your children, and that is just amazing. Lord, lead us and guide us, teach us, and prepare us so that nothing in this world enters our heart and draws us away from You. Let us not get caught up in tradition, rather in Your Word that we may be able to withstand the evils of the day. And let us humble ourselves in that while Your strength in us does enable us to go above and beyond what is expected, we do not get boastful about it. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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