Blessed Are Your Eyes

Matthew 13:10-17 KJV

And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?

He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.

Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.

And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:

For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.

For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

The disciples demonstrated a natural and reasonable concern that some people could not understand the teachings of Jesus Christ. Every Christian should long that every man know and understand the message Jesus came to give. How could a Christian ever be so heartless as to know the saving grace of God and not care that another does not know it?

Jesus' response to them is not what the Calvinist would have us to think; that God callously gives the truth to whom He would and denies it to those He would have to be cast into hell. Rather Jesus simply declares the fact that some will hear and receive His teachings and others will not. It is not heartless but realist. Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. His love extends to all the world so that whosoever shall call upon the name of The Lord shall be saved.[1]  He would have all men to be saved.[2] But He is not stuck in a cycle of endless ineffectiveness because many do not get saved. He would have all men to be saved, but saves those men who come to Him. 

Once Jesus had given the parables the Bible says His disciples asked Him to declare unto them, or explain to them the parables. The multitudes went away but His disciples stayed for more.

• He would have explained the parables to any who longed to understand His Word, but only did explain it to those who stayed near to hear the explanation
• He would have taught them all, but He didn't get discouraged and quit teaching them because most went away without an explanation

I know many people I would love to see saved and growing in Christian faith. But I am not going to quit serving the Lord waiting on them. I have many loved ones I pray will be born again. But I am not going to quit trying to win others until they are born again. There are dozens of people I pray will one day be faithful in coming to church. But I am not going to quit thanking God for and enthusiastically preaching to those who do faithfully attend.

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[1] Romans 10:13

[2] 1 Timothy 2:4

An Appeal to Seek God

Matthew 12:33-35 KJV

Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.

O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.

The fruit in this context has to do with the spoken word. The word, having proceeded from the heart is good from a good man and evil from an evil man. The evil man may say good words, but because it proceeds from an evil heart, it is, in the end, evil. A good man, whose heart is good, will not often say evil things, but when he does, will quickly repent and make right. Sugar doesn't make poison better but salt does enhance the flavor of the sweet. 

Now, a man cannot make a tree into what it isn't. A sour apple tree will always produce a sour apple. Neither can a man make an evil heart good. This is a work that can only be done by God.

• Religion
• Hard work
• Reformation

Can only trim a tree or make a man look well on the outside. God must be at work for the tree to change and for the heart of a man to be made new.  Therefore this passage is not an encouragement to work at reformation but one that urges men to seek God. 

The Point of Faith is to Believe God

Matthew 11:14 KJV

And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come.

Jesus gives a piece of truth that the listener was likely to reject; that John the Baptist:

• The same man who had pointed Christ out as the Lamb of God
• The same man who had baptized so many in the Jordan
• The same man who had stood up to the king
• The same man who was at this time imprisoned because if it, indeed
• The same man who would soon be beheaded

This same man was the fulfillment of the prophecy of Malachi.

• The Pharisees commonly believed that Elijah would be resurrected to preach to them
• The Sadducees did not believe the Scripture would be fulfilled in any real way

At any rate, John the Baptist just did not fit into their scheme of what a God should do. 

We often reject what is the truth of God's Word because we gave already decided what should be the plan of God.

• Sometimes we want God to do something more literal, more dramatic, more obvious than He chooses to do
• Sometimes we find God's promise difficult to receive exactly because it is so dramatic, obvious and literal

The point of faith is to believe God.

• If He chooses to work through "moving in the tops of the mulberry trees" or a whirlwind; either is His choice
• If He calls us to advance, risking all or if He leads us to set camp and wait on Him, either is His choice

Our place is to listen and trust and receive what He says.

Freely

Matthew 10:8 KJV

Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.

The disciples had been freely given both the power to do the miracles Jesus instructed and the gospel message they were to preach. They did not come by these things through any merit of their own, it was completely of God. Since they had done nothing to deserve these things they were then obligated to give them in like manner; freely and without regard whether they were deserved. 

We may apply this principle to:

• The gospel that we have received
• The resources God has blessed us with and
• The health and vitality of our life

While I note that these were all directed toward the spiritual so our efforts should be toward the same, still when we view each of these free gifts from God, we find more liberality in the sharing of them. 

His Own City

Matthew 9:1 KJV

And he entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into his own city.

This is not Bethlehem where He was born or Nazareth where He grew up and from whence the disciple had placed Him, "Jesus of Nazareth". It was a fulfillment of Scripture that He should be called a Nazarene. But this passage speaks of Capernaum, where he had recently moved having, I presume, been invited by Peter or one of the other disciples who had been fishermen there and who owned a home there. 

This tells me that any city may be "His own city" if there be people there to invite Him in. It is not that it must be:

• The majority of the city or even
• The officials of the city

because neither was the case at Capernaum. It need only be that there is someone in the city who ask Him to abide with them. 

Remember that He had been forced out of the region of the Gadarenes. Though He had cast the demons out of the man in the tombs they would not suffer Him to remain with them. Even the demoniac did not invite Christ to stay but requested that he be able to go with Jesus.

If Jesus is to claim a city someone must ask Him to abide with them. 

Quick to Pray

Job 7:17 KJV

What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him? and that thou shouldest set thine heart upon him?

Chapters six and seven comprise what is Job's response to Eliphaz. But a perhaps not so subtle distinction takes place between the chapters (remember that the chapter divisions were added much later.) in chapter six Job addresses Eliphaz but in chapter seven Job is speaking in prayer to God. So sudden and subtle is this shift that, if it were not for the chapter division a casual reader might not notice it happened. 

I attended a preaching conference earlier this week in which one of the speakers transitioned so suddenly from his introductory remarks to a prayer asking for God's blessing that it took me a moment to realize it happened. This takes place here in Job and I wonder if Eliphaz and the other friends might have been taken a but by surprise too?

This seems to me to be an excellent example of how near the believer's walk with God ought to be. Should it not be that we are near enough to God that we may turn to speak to him at any moment. In the intensities of struggle, we are often pressed to focus on the battle.

• The accuser
• The opponent
• The aggressor

becomes the center of our attention and that focus often causes us to lose sight of God's presence.

Moses, however, when accused, knelt to the ground and immediately began to pray. His attention was on God and not the accuser. Nehemiah, when pressed by the king why his countenance was sad, prayed to the God of heaven. His attention was on a god and not the king.

To walk with a God:

• As Moses did
• As Nehemiah did and
• As Job did

That us our goal.

Jesus Touched Him

Matthew 8:3 KJV

And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

John Gill writes, "This is a wonderful instance both of the grace, and goodness of Christ, in touching this loathsome creature; and of his unspotted purity and holiness, which could not be defiled by it; and of his mighty power in healing by a touch, and with a word of his mouth"

Grace

A man cast away from the rest of the world, through no fault of his own. A disease he would have much preferred to no have had left him, as Gill says, "a loathsome creature". 

Holiness

God is so holy, they say, that He cannot be in the presence of sin. Indeed our sins separated us from God; but not from Jesus. He could not be defiled even by this terrible disease.

Power

So holy is Christ that the disease fled. Rather than His holiness being infected with the disease, the diseased was cleansed by the power of holiness.

Hypocrites and Heathens Pray

Matthew 6:5-7 KJV

And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

No, they are not the only ones who pray. This passage is neither teaching that real Christians do not pray in public places or that real Christians only pray the "Lord's Prayer" of this text. to is teaching that real Christians can lose the point of their prayer life and turn it into something those who are not Christians can do. 

• Any lost person can recite some words.
• Any religious person can learn to make a fair show in public

The Christian learns to concern himself with neither. His interest is in the Lord and not in the ritual. He prays publicly when it is appropriate but his public prayer life is bolstered by his hours of prayer in his private closet. He prays importunately and frequently asks the Lord for the same thing, but his repetition is not rote. His are prayers of necessity and purpose. He prays until God answers.

The real Christian does not need to be seen of men when he prays because he knows he has been heard of God. His prayers are specific, personal, pointed and can be answered.

Behave Like Children

Matthew 5:45 KJV

That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

The Bible uses the term children or sons of God to describe a variety of aspects of our relationship with God

• We are born again as sons of God
• We are adopted as His sons

In this case, as we imitate the character of God we take in His appearance. 

No man is saved by imitating the work of God any more than a child can become the son of a man other than his own father by imitating his actions. As children of God, however, obedience to these teachings give us the likeness of the One who has adopted us into His own household. It is not essential for the adoption but it is essential if anyone else is to recognize that we have been adopted. 

The Thing that I Long For

Job 6:8 KJV

Oh that I might have my request; and that God would grant me the thing that I long for!

Job wishes for death of which Gill says it is, "...desired by good men from a principle of grace, and with right views, to be rid of sin, and to be with Christ, yet it often is done by persons in melancholy, sullen, and humorous fits, when they cannot have what they would..."

The thought occurred to me that, though he did not know it at the time, God had every intention of granting him the very thing he desired most:

• Blessings
• Children
• Health

and in the end,

• Freedom from sin and
• To be with a God

Circumstances can make us desperate and bring us to the point of breaking but God is at work in granting that which we earnestly desire:

• A life well lived
• A testimony that endures
• A purpose for being and finally
• A home with Him in heaven

A Matter of Small Consequence

Matthew 3:9 KJV

And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.

The Pharisees thought they were safe with God because of their relationship with Abraham. John's message to them was, as Albert Barnes puts it, "a matter of small consequence". They reasoned that their heritage put them in good standing before God. John the Baptist urged them to put away such thoughts. 

Men make up many means to justify themselves before the Lord. All such justifications are "a matter of small consequence" in the eyes of God. He has settled our standing on the basis of Jesus Christ. In 1 John 5:12 the Bible says,

He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

Any other argument:

• I am a good person
• I keep the Ten Commandments
• I have been baptized
• I am a church member

is "a matter of small consequence".

A Nazarene

Matthew 2:23 KJV

And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.

As there is no Old Testament prophecy which specifically says the Messiah would be from Nazareth, students of the Bible have proposed many ideas as to what this passage could refer to:

Some have suggested that this suggests Samson as a type of Christ

However, Samson was not a Nazarene but a Nazarite. The two words remind me of what my wife says of putting two shades of the same color together; they are close enough in color to appear a match was attempted. But they do not match and thus clash.

It seems very unlikely that God would get us close without getting us all the way. 

Some suggest that this is a reference to His kinship to Jesse, out of whom would come to the branch

The Hebrew word for branch is Netzer. Again it is similar but not the same. 

Some suggest this is a reference to his being deposed and rejected

I think Albert Barnes hits the nail on the head with this[1]. The Nazarenes were a lowly people in the estimation of those from the Judah. Being of the area that had been the Northern Kingdom of Israel, and having been conquered and decimated by the Assyrians; those who came from that region were typically only part Jewish and often rejected Temple worship in Jerusalem. When Nathaniel queried, "Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?" he voiced the sentiments of the nation. 

God could have sent His Son to be a great leader and wealthy celebrity, a powerful teacher. He instead sent Him to be a Saviour, a Lamb slain before the foundations of the world. 

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[1] "The character of the people of Nazareth was such that they were proverbially despised and contemned, John 1:46, John 5:52. To come from Nazareth, therefore, or to be a Nazarene, was the same as to be despised, or to be esteemed of low birth; to be a root out of dry ground, having no form or comeliness. This was what had been predicted by all the prophets. When Matthew says, therefore, that the prophecies were “fulfilled,” his meaning is, that the predictions of the prophets that he would be of a low and despised condition, and would be rejected, were fully accomplished in his being an inhabitant of Nazareth, and despised as such."

Job's Test "Touch It All"

Job 1:11-12 KJV

But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.

And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.

The accusation of Satan was not that if God touched something Job had he would curse God, but that if He touched all that Job had he would curse a God.

The cunning of the devil is to be observed in that he wanted to leave no room for error on his part. He could not risk anything slipping through the cracks. He wanted to break Job and thus dishonor God. Satan could not know how much Job would take before his faith buckled so he asked to take it all. Indeed, the one thing God kept back from Satan, Job's own health, did Satan return to lay claim upon later. 

The test that proves our faith can never be a light one. Any test of faith that leaves a hole for doubt will be exposed and exploited by Satan and the world. The test must be, therefore:

• Total
• Complete
• All encompassing

It is never an easy test; that one that proves our faith. But it is that test that is much more valuable than gold.

A Pure River

Revelation 22:1 KJV

And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.

John Gill meticulously lists what this river is not symbolic of but in the end, still surrenders it to symbolism rather than accepting its literal place in the eternal home. I cannot see any justification to find in it anything other than a literal river proceeding from God's throne. Any other interpretation, I am afraid, throws God's throne into the realm of symbolism and degrades The Revelation, indeed, God Himself, into a series of heavenly parables with little earthly good.

The river is pure, having cleansing properties. Few things are as powerful as water. 

• It hydrates the body
• It cleanses both within and without
• It cools
• It operates machinery
• It cuts out canyons
• It cooks
• It refreshes
• It has served as a means of transportation

The river is a water of life, 

• It contains vast food supplies in the oceans and rivers
• It nourishes plant life
• It assembles an ecosystem from which we find our food sources

The river proceeds from the throne of God

• He is the creator of it
• He is the supplier of it
• He is the source of it
• He is the overseer of it

The river is more than symbolic. It is:

• Real
• Literal and
• Bona Fide

But it is representative of the perpetual and endless supply of love, life and supply which is ours from God.

What John Saw

Revelation 21:2 KJV

And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

John has repeatedly told us the things he saw in the Revelation. Here he makes the fact more emphatic, "And I John saw..." This was

• Personal
• Experiential and
• Individual

It is no theory. It is deeper than a vision. He speaks as a representative of men but he also speaks as one man. He saw this himself.

But John is a representative. His Revelation reveals what every Christian will see. We could very well put our names in here:

• "And I Marvin saw…"
• "And I Tom saw…"
• "And I Kathleen saw…"

Whatever your name, if you are a believer, you too will see what John saw.

Powerless Satan

Revelation 20:1-2 KJV

And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.

And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,

The power of the devil seems, at times, to be overwhelming. 

• We see the world situation becoming increasingly violent against the Christian faith
• We see Christianity itself being swallowed in worldliness and compromise
• We see other religions we know to be dangerous to faith in Christ
• We see these things and know that Satan is in the thick of it

We know that he cannot be defeated by the will and power of men. Even "Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee."[1]

The enormous power and influence he wields during the Tribulation period impress us. And huge numbers of people are paralyzed in fear of him.

But take note of this; when everything is finished Satan appears more like a defeated and exhausted old man. An angel lays hold of him and, without struggle or trouble, binds him into the bottomless pit.

The fear of the devil is a misplaced fear. If we are sided with Christ then we have the advantage.

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[1] Jude 1:9 KJV

Alleluia

Revelation 19:1 KJV

And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God:

The Tribulation is about to conclude. The judgment of the nations is about to close. The final measure to bring Israel to faith is Christ is about to end. 

Heaven is in a state of rejoicing;

• The angels
• The saints already there
• The host around the throne of God

are all shouting praise. 

The work is not yet over. There is still the battle in Megiddo and there will be the judgment of the sheep and the goats. But:

• The Kingdom is about to begin
• The promise of God to Abraham Isaac and Jacob is about to be fulfilled
• The prophecy of Nathan to King David is about to come to pass

and heaven celebrates. 

Every Christian should live in anticipation of the fulfillment of the eternal promises of God. May God make it so. 

Heaven-centric

Revelation 18:1 KJV

And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.

While the action of The Revelation appears to be on earth, the focus is in heaven.

• The angels
• The vials
• The judgments
• The thunder and lightening

all if these proceed from heaven. This is a book about heaven and not the earth. It is heaven-centric, not earth-centric. 

And so we should think of it today. The action visible to our eyes is happening here. We are concerned about it because it seems to concern us. But these things are not the source and the aim of our focus should not be upon them but upon those things which come from above. These things are symptoms. They are the outward signs of things much deeper. 

Look past the visible to discover the hidden, deeper, spiritual. 

This World Hates Religion

Revelation 17:16 KJV

And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.

Our world is filled with religion. Surveys indicate that almost every human being on the face of the planet is in some way religious, the most notable exceptions being among the educated elite. 

• Religions run a huge gamut:
• Christianity of many flavors
• Islam in fewer but still multiple flavors
• Spiritism
• Hinduism
• Buddhism

Some religions are only meant to serve life here. Others focus almost solely on eternity. Some are completely works-oriented. Others are grace-oriented. The most influential religions in the world are Christianity, with Islam climbing in numbers and status. 

While religion is very powerful today and will seem to grow in power during the Tribulation, ultimately those who used religion for power turn against that religion. Whether the religion here referenced is Catholicism or Islam or some blend of the two unknown in our time, men hate it. It is not difficult to see the seeds of such hatred even now. Though politicians are almost required to pay lip service to some form of faith, their lifestyles and their rhetoric demonstrate disgust for a faith that influences thought. The average person will claim some kind of belief in God, but will in the same breath curse a religion that attempts to harness that belief. 

Religion is a dying organism. It has grown fat and rich off the backs of its subjects, but it is dying and no amount of wealth will save it. What is still healthy is faith. In the face of terrible persecution, those with faith in Christ will endure, hold fast and increase in number. 

It will be so in the Tribulation.

It is so today.

Choose Grace.

Revelation 16:9 KJV

And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.

People respond differently to the various acts of God in the world. Some see the Lord's acts as righteous, good and just and glorify Him in those acts, whatever they may be. Others reject the righteous goodness of God and either refuse to acknowledge His existence at all or blaspheme His name as the cause of all their sorrows. 

The fact is that God is at work in every instance of human life. While a God does not do evil, He does use the evil that exists in this world - that of the devil and of sinful men, for His righteous purposes. He never does evil things, but He does

• Chasten
• Judge and
• Pour out His wrath

all things that men may take in the negative sense if they choose to blaspheme God rather than to repent and give God glory.

No good thing is accomplished in blaspheming God.

• He still exists
• He is still just
• He still carries out His righteous plan

The blasphemer is merely outside of the blessings of God instead of being a receiver of those blessings. We each have the choice to believe and receive God's grace or reject and receive God's wrath.

Choose grace.