Frank's Bible Blog

Matthew 21-- Classic Good verses Evil

2009-11-13T04:00:00-06:00

Historically, some of the most popular movies made had themes centered on good verses evil. Often it is an evil or repressive establishment that is beaten back by popular champions of "good" (such as the Star Wars saga). Matthew 21 reads like one of those movies--except this was real! It is a show-down between Christ, who by this time had become extremely popular, and the religious establishment that actually kept people from a genuine relationship with God. This religious establishment also had considerable political power among the Jewish people. They saw Christ as a threat (and rightly so!). The chapter begins with Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem as crowds gathered to shout "Hosanna!" It moves to the temple where Jesus runs out those who were extorting the people and degrading God's house. Then in a face off with the establishment, Jesus tells two parables illustrating how they had rejected God's message of obedience and salvation. What is sad, though, is how quickly the cheers of the crowds would change to shouts of "crucify him!" as just a short time later Christ would be crucified. They would eventually be swayed by their leaders and turn on Christ. Let me encourage you: don't follow the crowds just to follow the crowds. Know what you believe and why you believe it. Then you will be able to take a stand whether the crowd is for what you believe or against it. Let's learn from the consistency of Christ who spoke the truth regardless of how popular the message would be to the audience at the time.

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Frank Banfill is an author, international speaker, and president of MaxPoint Ministries, whose purpose is to help individuals, churches and ministries reach their full potential. Please forward this blog to your family & friends. Not a subscriber? Sign up now at www.FranksBibleBlog.com.

Matthew 20--Mirror, Mirror on the Wall...

2009-11-12T04:00:00-06:00

There is a well-known children's story that features a wicked queen who daily looks into a magical mirror and asks the question "whose the fairest of them all?" As long as the answer came back that she was, everything was fine. When someone else became "fairer," the queen began to plot to get rid of this "competitor." Unfortunately, there are many people like that today. The world revolves around them and no one else. In Matthew 20, Jesus confronts this mentality first with a parable, then with his own disciples, and finally through His own example of the proper approach to life.

In the parable, Jesus told the story of a group of day laborers who agreed to work for an employer at a set price for the day. As they day went on, the employer hired more workers but paid them all the same regardless of how long they actually worked. As you can imagine, the ones who worked the entire day were upset--even though they were paid the agreed amount. Their focus was on themselves and their "rights" rather than on the owner's right to do what he wants with his resources. Later, we see the mother of two of Christ's disciples requests that Christ give them higher positions of honor in His kingdom. Again, the focus was on themselves rather than on the One who has the right to do whatever He chooses. Jesus models the opposite attitude, one of selflessness, as He again describes His impending death (vv. 17-19) and then goes on to compassionately heal two blind men (vv. 29-34). Jesus gave up His genuine rights to everything so that He could suffer and die for us. We, on the other hand, try to claim rights that aren't even ours. We must stop looking into the mirror and think that everything revolves around us and start looking to God to see how He wants us to serve Him. We should be thankful for whatever God gives us and not look with envy at those around us who have received something different from the Lord.

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Matthew 19-- What You Want to Hear or What You Need to Hear?

2009-11-11T04:00:00-06:00

A network television talent show was recently in town filming for an upcoming show. My daughter and I went to it and watched the variety of acts. The ultimate winner for the season gets $1 Million, so a lot was at stake. Some of the acts we saw were quite good, and some were just awful. There was a panel of judges that determined if the act would go on to the next stage of the competition. After one group had performed, one of the judges said "Listen, we are not here to tell you what you want to hear, we are here to tell you what you need to hear." He then went on to share his opinion of their weaknesses, even though they were a crowd favorite.

Sometimes we are in situations where we must say what someone needs to hear, even though it may not be the most popular. That is very much the situation in Matthew 19 as Jesus dealt with issues such as divorce, children, and salvation. At one point, even Christ's own disciples could not believe what He had said. "When the disciples heard this they were greatly astonished" (v25). But Jesus told the truth. He gave people what they needed to hear in order to make the right decisions. With the rich young ruler, He cut through to the heart of the issue--he loved and trusted in material things and had no place for faith in Christ. Some people are never confronted with truth; rather they hear only what they want to hear, and suffer as a result. Elsewhere in Scripture, we are told to "speak the truth in love." God may place us in certain situations where we are the only bearers of truth. We must speak up for truth, but just as importantly, we must do it with love.

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Matthew 18-- Do you really want to be #1?

2009-11-10T04:00:00-06:00

The crowd cries out "we're number one...we're number one" as they wave a giant foam "1" in the air. Being number one in sports, like business and so much of life, is the end pursuit of many people. Even Christ's disciples picked up the chant. "Which one of us is going to be number one," was their burning question in Matthew 18. Jesus quickly turned their focus off from themselves and their selfish desire for personal greatness and brings them back down to earth. He reminds them that there is more to life than themselves. There are others around them, some with real struggles, that they need to respond to appropriately. He illustrates first with children, by proclaiming that salvation comes when we take a child-like approach to God. Not boasting about who we are or what we have done, but with child-like simplicity acknowledging our dependence on the Lord. Jesus goes on to discuss how to handle a fellow believer who sins against you, then finishes the chapter with a story on forgiving others. The bottom line is this: greatness is not measured by your position in life but by how you treat others. You may have climbed to the top of the corporate ladder, but if you had to step on people to get there, then you are a failure in God's eyes. Even modern secular business books echo the principles of Christ. If you want to succeed, help those around you become great. Do that and you won't need a foam "1".

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Matthew 17-- From the Mountain to the Mundane

2009-11-09T04:00:00-06:00

Mountain-top experiences are wonderful, but they don't last forever. Most of life is lived in the mundane rather than on the mountain. But the mountain times certainly help us get through the mundane! Chapter 17 starts with such a mountain-top experience, literally. Jesus is transfigured ("His face shone like the sun and His clothes became as white as the light") on a high mountain in front of Peter, James and John. Not only that, but Moses and Elijah appeared as well. Wow! What a day that must have been! No wonder Peter didn't want to leave--he wanted them to set up camp on the mountain. But alas, the experience ended and it was back to reality. They came off the mountain and were immediately faced with a problem that the remaining disciples could not handle. It was the kind of problem that could only be solved by "prayer and fasting" (v21). Then Jesus reminds them again of the reality of His impending death. If that wasn't depressing enough, when the disciples get back to their "base" at Capernaum, the tax collectors where waiting to collect. Remarkably, Jesus tells Peter to go fishing and get the needed tax money out of the mouth of a fish! Jesus even made the mundane task of tax paying interesting. The bottom line is this: enjoy the mountain top experiences of life and let them be refreshing times, but don't get discouraged when you have to face the everyday challenges. You can't live forever on the mountain, but you can through faith conquer the mundane and live a successful life for God's glory.

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Matthew 16-- Preparing for What's to Come

2009-11-06T04:00:00-06:00

As children mature, they are constantly being exposed to new things. The "new" things may be simple, like a new food, or they may be something big. Sometimes the "new" is something good and exciting like a trip to an amusement park. Sometimes the "new" is a sad or potentially scary situation. As a parent, we try to do our best to prepare our children for what is to come. In Matthew 16, we see Jesus preparing those around Him for what was to come. In particularly, He prepares them for His impending death. With the Pharisees, who peppered Jesus to show them a sign, He prepared them by saying the only sign they would have is the sign of Jonah-- a vague reference to the fact that He would be buried three days just like Jonah was "buried" in the giant fish. Then, Jesus prepares those closest to Him--His disciples. He warns them about the false doctrines of the Pharisees. He solicits their confession about who He really was--an important truth they would need to cling to in the coming days. Finally, He lays out some of the specifics of His death but then quickly turns that around to be an example to the disciples. As Christ would physically die, they needed to "die" to themselves in order to follow Christ. How can this prepare us today to what might come in our lives? While we don't know the future, learning to focus our faith on who Christ is will make a world of difference. We don't need to go through life like the Pharisees looking for God to prove Himself through signs. No, we need to act with a mature faith that confesses that Christ alone is sufficient for all we need as we daily deny ourselves, take up our crosses, and follow Him.

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Matthew 15-- Reality or an Illusion?

2009-11-05T04:00:00-06:00

Growing up I loved magic "tricks." I bought tricks from toy stores and "magic" shops and enjoyed entertaining family and friends. Later, I became a professional ventriloquist and also used illusions as part of my performances. If an illusion is done right, it looks so real that most people are deceived into believing it is real. The same can be said of worship. There are many people and churches that look like they are worshiping God, but in reality, it is just an illusion. Some of the most depressing places that I have visited around the world have been churches--churches that give the appearance of worship. This chapter in Matthew has worship as its theme. In the first 20 verses, Jesus confronts the religious leaders of the day about their false worship. He quotes from the Old Testament. "These people draw near to Me with their mouth and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men." False worship is based on the teachings or traditions of man over the truths of Scripture. It is a focus on outward appearances rather than on hearts that are holy. Genuine worship is also illustrated in this chapter. The Gentile woman who followed Christ and worshiped Him did so with great faith--and Christ rewarded her accordingly. The multitudes worshiped Christ with great focus. Three days they remained with Jesus even though they had no food. They did not let external matters interfere with their desire to see, hear and be touched by the Lord. How is your worship today? Do you just follow the rituals set forth by others without a heart that truly longs to honor God? Or do you approach God with faith, believing in who He is and in what He can do? Do you have focus in your worship or are you easily distracted? Is your worship real or just an illusion?

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Matthew 14-- Doing Life Together

2009-11-04T04:00:00-06:00

As a father, I try to look for ways to share life lessons with my children. These aren't formal lessons like "okay, let's all sit down now and I'll lecture you on life." Rather, it is trying to find teachable moments as we do life together. It is looking at what is happening to us and around us, and seeing what we can learn from it. The disciples certainly benefited from Christ's formal teachings, but I think they got the most out of the lessons they learned from doing life with Him. In Matthew 14 we see four such lessons. The first lesson is one of conviction--having something you believe in to the point that you are willing to die for it. That was the lesson they saw when John the Baptist was beheaded because he refused to compromise his message. Next, they saw a lesson in creativity when Jesus took the loaves and fish to feed 5,000 men plus women and children. Initially the disciples only saw the problems--the time was too late, the needs were too many and the resources too few. Jesus saw beyond the problem to find a creative solution. The third lesson was about control. With amazement they saw Jesus walk on water and control even the wind. They discovered that nothing is beyond Christ's ability and control. Finally, they got a lesson in compassion. Jesus tried to get alone time, but He was moved with compassion to meet the needs of the masses. Conviction, creativity, control and compassion--good lessons for all of us to learn as we follow Christ.

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Frank Banfill is an author, international speaker, and president of MaxPoint Ministries, whose purpose is to help individuals, churches and ministries reach their full potential. Please share this blog with your family & friends. Not a subscriber? Sign up now at www.FranksBibleBlog.com.

Matthew 13-- Story Time

2009-11-03T04:00:00-06:00

Every child loves a good story. Truth is, adults do as well. That's why some of the best songs and most popular movies are the ones with the strongest stories. Jesus made extensive use of stories, called parables, but not for the purpose of entertaining. In chapter 13 we see eight of these parables but Christ makes it clear the purpose for these stories was to enlighten those who truly desired to follow Him. Jesus intentionally did not always "connect the dots" of His stories--at least not with the masses. He gave them something to think about, something they would have to sort out on their own if they were truly interested. As Jesus illustrates here with the parable of the sower and the seeds, people react differently to God's word. Some immediately reject it. Some initially are excited about it but never let it take root in their lives. Others let it take root, but allow worldly interests to kill their fruitfulness. Then there are those who not only hear the word and let it take root, but they bear fruit. Are you like the masses who hear what God says but never really take it to heart? Or are you like the disciples who really wanted to understand and internalize Christ's teachings? When you read something in the Bible that you don't understand do you just dismiss it and move on? Or do you ask the Holy Spirit to reveal truth and then dig a little deeper? The Bible doesn't tell stories just for the sake of providing interesting reading. It tells stories so that God can reveal Himself to us and our lives can be changed.

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Frank Banfill is an author, international speaker, and president of MaxPoint Ministries, whose purpose is to help individuals, churches and ministries reach their full potential. Please share this blog with your family & friends. Not a subscriber? Sign up now at www.FranksBibleBlog.com.

Matthew 12-- Reading While Driving

2009-11-02T04:00:00-06:00

A lot of automobile accidents occur because of driver distraction. It's no wonder. I've seen people putting on make-up, talking to kids in the back seat, even reading newspapers while they were driving. Even a short distraction can result in a crash. As we move through life, there are many things that come along that can distract us. Sometimes those distractions come from material things--we get focused on accumulating "stuff" rather than pleasing God. Some times those distractions come in the form of people who oppose what we stand for and want to derail us. Unfortunately, many believers are not well grounded in what they believe. When they are challenged, they either don't know what to say or they give in to the false logic they hear. Jesus is a great example of someone who stayed focused in the midst of opposition and challenges to His ways. In chapter 12, Jesus squares off with the scribes and Pharisees who were the religious leaders of the day. Throughout the chapter, Christ takes these leaders to task for their faulty thinking. Notice two things that Jesus did that kept Him from getting distracted. First, He approached everything from God's view of life rather than man's view. This gave Him the proper perspective. In the first 14 verses, Jesus shows these leaders that people are more important than procedures. They had lost site of the big picture. Next, Jesus understood His mission. He did not allow Himself to get side-tracked by the praises of the crowds (vv 15-21), the opposition of those who perpetuated the status quo, or even His own family (vv 46-50). If we will follow Christ's example of seeing things from God's perspective and staying focused on our mission, then we won't get distracted and end up "crashing" our lives.

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Frank Banfill is an author, international speaker, and president of MaxPoint Ministries, whose purpose is to help individuals, churches and ministries reach their full potential. Please share this blog with your family & friends. Not a subscriber? Sign up now at www.FranksBibleBlog.com.