March 26, 2010 (Matthew 15-16, Mark 7-8, Luke 9:18-27)

I guess because God says that without faith it's impossible to please Him, He will continue to stress that point through His word. That continues to jump out to me, as well as the Spirit's role in our life and prayer.

Matthew 15 tells the story of the Gentile woman who came to Jesus wanting Him to send the demon out of her daughter. Jesus gave her no reply - not a word. Then his disciples told Him to send her away because they were tired of her begging. Jesus told her He had come to help the Jews, not the Gentiles. Here' the rest of the exchange:

²⁵ But she came and worshiped him, pleading again, “Lord, help me!”

²⁶ Jesus responded, “It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.”

²⁷ She replied, “That’s true, Lord, but even dogs are allowed to eat the scraps that fall beneath their masters’ table.”

²⁸ “Dear woman,” Jesus said to her, “your faith is great. Your request is granted.” And her daughter was instantly healed.

Not long after this we see another time when the crowds following Jesus were large and it was time to send them away. Here is what Jesus said to his disciples:

³² Then Jesus called his disciples and told them, “I feel sorry for these people. They have been here with me for three days, and they have nothing left to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry, or they will faint along the way.”

Don't you think at this point, they would have remembered what happened before? I think Jesus was waiting for one of them to say, "Hey, let's see how many loaves and fish we have, and you can bless it and feed the people like you did before!" But here's what they said instead:

³³ The disciples replied, “Where would we get enough food here in the wilderness for such a huge crowd?”

I think at this point, Jesus was probably wondering if they would ever get it. But He graciously, without any condemnation, asks them how many loaves and fish there were, and does the same thing as before. He fed the crowds and there were baskets of leftovers. So after this incident, as they were crossing the lake, the disciples realized they had forgotten to bring any food with them. Here's what happened next:

^{Matthew 6:6} “Watch out!” Jesus warned them. “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

⁷ At this they began to argue with each other because they hadn’t brought any bread. ⁸ Jesus knew what they were saying, so he said, “You have so little faith! Why are you arguing with each other about having no bread? ⁹ Don’t you understand even yet? Don’t you remember the 5,000 I fed with five loaves, and the baskets of leftovers you picked up? ¹⁰ Or the 4,000 I fed with seven loaves, and the large baskets of leftovers you picked up? ¹¹ Why can’t you understand that I’m not talking about bread? So again I say, ‘Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.’”

¹² Then at last they understood that he wasn’t speaking about the yeast in bread, but about the deceptive teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Again, He points out their lack of faith.

Then Jesus tell them some other truths, one of which I think pertains to prayer. The footnote in my Bible says nothing about it, but that's what I think this verse is talking about:

¹⁹ And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you lock on earth will be locked in heaven, and whatever you open on earth will be open in heaven.”

And then, in rebuke to what Peter told Him, Jesus made this reply:

23 "You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.”

Right after this, Jesus gave them another 'speech' about following Him and the cost it would entail:

²⁴ Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. ²⁵ If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. ²⁶ And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? ²⁷ For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father and will judge all people according to their deeds."

And then finally, one section from Mark 7:

²⁰ And then he added, “It is the thought life that defiles you. ²¹ For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, ²² adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, eagerness for lustful pleasure, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. ²³ All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you and make you unacceptable to God.”