Daily Bread Pastor Mike Anderson

J ohn the Baptist Beheaded 14 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the reports about Jesus,  The fact that Herod heard "reports" points once again to the historical nature of Jesus.  We did not make Jesus up.  He existed and was talked about and well known in his day by all people Jews and Gentiles alike.  Most conclude that Jesus was about a year into his public ministry.   " This Herod was known as Herod Antipas and was one of the sons of Herod the Great who reigned when Jesus was born. He ruled over Galilee and therefore heard much about Jesus. His brother Archelaus ruled to the south, and his brother Philip ruled to the north " (Guzik) The word "tetrarch" means ruler of "a fourth".  But since the Jewish leaders were subordinate to Rome, the title lost some of its meaning.  Also a tetrarch was also lower than a king.  2 and he said to his attendants, “This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead! That is why miraculous powers are at w

  A Prophet Without Honor The people of Nazareth are surprised that one of their own could do such amazing things.  53 When Jesus had finished these parables, he moved on from there.  Jesus travels to Nazareth.  Nazareth was about 12 miles inland Southwest of the Sea of Galilee, where he stayed in Capernaum.  " Namely, Nazareth: but with no better success than he had had there before: for though he preached in their synagogue with such wisdom and eloquence that they were astonished, and also performed some miracles, yet the Nazarenes were not disposed to believe on him, taking offence at the poverty and meanness of his family and relations. " (Benson) 54 Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked.  This was a similar response to the first time he was there, though he was a young man at that time.   " Because these villagers were familiar with J

The Parable of the Net 47 “Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish.  " The kingdom of heaven is like unto a net ... - This parable does not differ in meaning from that of the tares. The gospel is compared to a net dragging along on the bottom of a lake, and collecting all - good and bad. The gospel may be expected to do the same; but in the end of the world, when the net "is drawn in," the bad will be separated from the good; the one will be cast away, and the other saved. Our Saviour never fails to keep before our minds the great truth that there is to be a day of judgment, and that there will be a separation of the good and the evil. " Barnes 48 When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away.  The bible tells us that the gospel will be preached to the ends of the earth to all people and then the end will

The Parable of the Hidden Treasure 44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field.  " Probably no parable in the whole series came more home to the imagination of the disciples than this. Every village had its story of men who had become suddenly rich by finding some hidden hoard that had been hastily concealed in time of war or tumult. Then, as now, there were men who lived in the expectation of finding such treasures, and every traveller who was seen searching in the ruins of an ancient town was supposed to be hunting after them. As far back as the days of Solomon such a search had become a parable for the eager pursuit of wisdom. " (Ellicott) The treasures of life, the gospel, eternal life, and the free grace of God we receive in Christ Jesus are often hidden to people.  They pass right over the treasure even if it is in their back yard.   When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. We don't kn

The Parable of the Weeds Explained 36 Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” The disciples were eager to understand the meaning of the parable.  When we read the bible are we eager to both understand and apply it?  The bible is not just a book to be studied but a manual for life.  3 7 He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man.  39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. " I n the parable of the soils, the seed represented the Word of God; here it represents true believers. The point of the parables is completely different; the parable of the soils shows how men receive and respond to the Word of God, and the parable of the tares of the field shows how God will divide His true people from false believers at the end of this age. " (Guzik) Notice though we preach and teach God's Word, it

The Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast 31 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field.  Jesus again uses the metaphor of a seed, but this time in a different way.  Remember in parables we don't try to analyze and give meaning to every single, small detail but the story as a whole.  Some people get caught up in the fact that some have found seeds smaller than the mustard seed, and it causes them to doubt the bible's truthfulness.  This is the problem with taking a literal view of the bible when it is clearly meant not to be taken literally by the context.    32 Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.” The purpose of the parable is to teach yet another aspect of how God's kingdom works here on earth.  The main point is that though something may seem very small in the world

The Parable of the Weeds Jesus tells them another parable with a similar, but different theme.  Again he starts by saying, " the kingdom of heaven is like ".  Jesus is giving them the secrets of the kingdom to reveal spiritual realities through these practical stories.   24 Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.  We can assume that the good seed means followers of God and Christ, similar to the seeds in the previous parable which were planted in the four different soil conditions. Only one of the seeds produced fruit 30, 60 and 90 times over which is represented by the sprouting wheat in this parable. But in this parable something external threatens the wheat which has already sprouted.   25 But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away.  The enemy is always interpreted as the devil, who is always trying to destroy the work of God's kingdom coming on earth as

Matthew 18 “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means:  In Mark and Luke's version of the parable, the disciples ask Jesus to explain the meaning of the parable.  Another version says, "Hear ye", with the emphasis on "you".  Jesus is giving them the insights into the spiritual meaning of the parable and wants them to really listen.   19 When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The first soil condition that is not conducive to growing the seed was the stony path.  Jesus says the evil one snatches it away even before it has a chance to bear fruit.   " The wayside soil represents those who never really hear the word with understanding. The Word of God must be understood before it can truly bear fruit. One of Satan’s chief works is to keep men in darkness regarding their understanding of the gospel. " (2 Corin

Matthew 13:10 The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?” Yesterday I mentioned that Jesus often used parables in his teaching.  Though the parables were not always easy to understand or apply, they forced the reader to think about the words and search for the meaning.   One would assume that this was at the end of Jesus' teaching, when the disciples were alone with Jesus in the boat. Mark also states that other disciples were there as well. They were puzzled as to why he might use parables if it was harder for the crowds to understand what he was saying.  11 He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.  This statement might have left them even more confused. The term "secrets" is often translated as "mysteries" in many other bible translations.  " The parable conceals truth from those who are either too lazy to think or too blinded by prejudice to s

Matthw 13 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake.  Jesus begins again to teach about the kingdom of heaven and how it comes to earth.  Notice he sits down to teach.  He was very informal and relational in his teaching method.  He teaches them the well known parable today about the "Sower and the Seed".   Jesus taught in parables as a way to draw in his listeners to seek the truth.  Parables were earthly analogies with a spiritual meaning.  Usually there was ONE main point in the parable.  2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore.  “ The teacher sat, and the people stood: we should have less sleeping in congregations if this arrangement still prevailed. ” (Spurgeon) This was Jesus' natural pulpit.  It provided good acoustics and beautiful surroundings, from which he could draw upon for his teaching.  Recently our church met outside during COVID. It was great to see the sun

Jesus’ Mother and Brothers We don't have a lot of passages which talk about Jesus' relationship with his family.  What can we learn from this one?  46 While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him.  The term "brothers" could mean near kin, such as cousins, half brothers and/or other children that Joseph and Mary had together.    " We must not suppose that our Lord meant to put any slight on them, especially on his mother. He only took this opportunity of expressing his affection to his obedient disciples in a peculiarly endearing manner; which could not but be a great comfort to them."   Some conclude that after his fiery speech to the Pharisees, they may have wanted him to protect him from the push back.   " Considering the general context of opposition to Jesus, it may well be that the family of Jesus wanted to appeal to Him to not be so controversial in His ministry ." Guzik 47 Someone

Matthew 12:43 “When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. In the context Jesus is referring to the Pharisees rejection of him.  He uses the illustration of demon possession to show the seriousness of their rejection of him.  The Pharisees were looking for a Messiah of their own making. One that would be a political and military Messiah.  One of the consequences of the leaders' rejection of Jesus was in A.D. 70 the temple was destroyed. Since they took God out of the temple, there was nothing to protect it.    But the fact that Jesus uses an example of demon possession (an impure spirit comes out of a person assumes he was in the person), illustrates that demon possession is real.  If it wasn't, he wouldn't have used it.   " Yet the use of the illustration shows us some interesting principles of demon possession, and shows us that Jesus regarded it as a real phenomenon and not just a contemporary superstit

The Sign of Jonah 38 Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.” The Pharisees really didn't want to see a sign, they were just trying make Jesus look bad.   “ Had not Christ shown them signs enough? What were all the miracles he had wrought in their sight? They either speak this out of a further idle curiosity…or else they speak it in direct opposition.” (Poole) 39 He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.  Though Jesus was certainly not against showing the people signs, and manifesting the power of the kingdom, he was against being manipulated by these hypocritical leaders.  He knew that if they did not believe what he was already doing there was no point in doing more.  He would not be their pawn.  Jesus uses the example of Jonah, the Old Testament prophet to the city of Nineveh, who tried run from God's call on his life. As

29 “Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can plunder his house. Since Jesus is referring to Satan, He is stating that though Satan has power (i.e. the strong man), he does not have more power than he does.  In order to deliver someone from Satan, Jesus' power had to overcome the power that was possessing the man.   Since the Spirit of Christ lives in those who are born again believers, they too have a power in them that is greater than he that is in the world.  Jesus again teaches us to be aware of Satan's power.  It is real.  We must acknowledge it, respect it, and then defeat it.   30 “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.  This leads to his next point. Either you are with Jesus and the Spirit of Christ lives in you.  Or. you are against him and the spirit of the world lives in you. Though some people may think it is extreme to be called &

Jesus and Beelzebul Jesus not only healed people of sickness and disease, but also of demon possession. We might call this a spiritual illness. The people in the story, having seen Jesus heal all the others they had brought to him, had just enough faith to bring to him the demon possessed man.  This shows us that demon possession is real and not just something that Hollywood has made up with movies like the "Exorcist".   22 Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see.  Verse 22 is almost matter of fact.  They brought to him a demon possessed man, who as a result of the possession could not talk or see.  Note demons have power to affect us physically.   " Many, no doubt, supposed these defects to be merely natural: but the Spirit of God saw otherwise, and gives the true account, both of the disorder and the cure. How many other disorders, seemingly natural, may even now be owing to the same c