Draw near to God and He will draw near to you

Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. . . The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil. Matthew 12:33, 35 

First of all, let’s be clear regarding the people who had critized Jesus. They were “good people” in terms of their devotion to God and the Scriptures (v. 24). When it came to following God’s commandments, they were the best. How is it that these upright and deeply religious people could say evil things about Jesus? Continue reading →

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you

Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to Jesus, and He healed him, so that the mute man spoke and saw. Matthew 12:22

In this story we meet one of the many anonymous characters that appear in the gospel. In this instance, a man who was blinded and silenced by demon-possession was brought to Jesus. It is beautiful to see how people had learned to take their problems and hardships to Jesus–even the most severe cases. Continue reading →

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you

He will not quarrel, nor cry out;
Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.
A battered reed He will not break off,
And a smoldering wick He wil not put out,
Until He leads justice to victory.
And in His name the Gentiles will hope. Matthew 12:19-21

Some dreams we carry in our soul are most likely shared by everyone; for example, to enjoy the companionship of friends and spouse, improve our life situation, be loved and respected, live securely and free from suffering, and so on. But for millions of people, sickness, injury, mental instability, oppressive circumstances, or chronic pain frustrate those dreams and place them out of reach. Continue reading →

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you

But if you had known what this means, “I desire compassion, and not a sacrifice,” you would not have condemned the innocent. Matthew 12:7

Jesus protected his disciples from unnecessary spiritual abuse. The Pharisees had passed judgment on the disciples for doing something that was “not lawful to do on a Sabbath” (v. 2). Jesus responded with two questions that took them back to the Scriptures–both begin with, “Have you not read . . .?”–and then with three statements. Continue reading →