Epaggelia

Key Texts:  Matthew 14:24-33, Mark 6:47-52, John 6:16-21

Three texts describing one event, and revealing four miracles.

1-Jesus walking on water, Mt. 14:26, Mk. 6:49, Jn. 6:19.

2-Jesus enabling Peter to walk on water, Mt. 14:29. 

3-Jesus enforcing calmness on the lake, Mt. 14:32, Mk. 6:51. 

4-Jesus transporting the boat to shore, Jn. 6:21. 

These events constitute the fifth great sign of Jesus’ divinity as told by John. His divinity is proved as being the bread of life which supersedes the force of life in the earth, as well as our soul in our bodies. His statement of being “living” bread constitutes power. The disciples in the miraculous meal didn’t learn the spiritual truth revealed until much later, Mk. 6:52. They understood the basic statement of Christ’s deity being real, Mt. 14:33, but didn’t understand the implications of God with them! The devil failed in his attempt to make people take Jesus as king by force, now satan tries to kill the disciples in this storm. The devil succeeded in using Herod to kill John the Immersionist, but God still had work planned for the disciples. If and when God allows the devil to use his tool of death on us, it is only because God can see us as having successfully completed His will in our life, when we have finished doing what He has planned for us, that achievement is rewarded even if the devil does painfully take us to a physical death, it is Jesus who helps us through it, leading us to a spiritual doorway of life, Jn. 10:9. Because He is the bread of life, we need to feed on daily, which will eventually be turned into one eternal day in heaven, for there is no night there, Rv. 21:25 & 22:5.  

Since God in Jesus has work prepared for them, they must be personally introduced to His power working through them. Therefore Peter experiences walking on water, and previously the disciples had a massive multiplication of bread & fish to distribute through their hands to thousands of people. To estimate the ability of distributing enough food for 5000 men besides women and children, we might divide 5000 by 12 and see at least 417 meals multiplied by Jesus via each one of the 12 disciples. A conservative estimate of the total mouths fed may be 8750 on this day, and a few days later, 4000 men were fed, again including women and children may be a total of 7000 people, bringing the total to 15,750. 

The series of miracles connected with the feeding of the 5000 and more, is seen as enforcing God’s presence as the answer to our problems. The stormy lake was leaving the disciples at risk of losing their lives without Jesus, and to see Jesus coming toward them against the wind they are battling, but going faster then all of them in a boat, must have been frightening. Peter’s words, “if it is you, bid me come”, is not reflecting Peter’s doubt about the identity of Jesus. But it is Peter’s pride in his prominence over the other disciples in the boat, to be selected by Jesus to walk on the water, and Peter does it by only one of the words of Jesus, “COME”.  If a ghost said to you, ‘come’, would you? Later on, this kind of prominence in Peter’s character gets him in trouble, Mk. 14:28-30. No matter what our character, when we are in the midst of overcoming temptation, we must keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, and never look at the waves. 

The Sea of Galilee is 13 X 8 miles.  It is thought the crossing was about about 6 miles to Capernaum. A furlong, based on the Greek stadion, at about 607 feet, the distance rowed by the disciples, was between 2.87 and 4.01 miles, or about half way across the lake. The timing of it was during 3-6am. John is clear that when Jesus got up onto the boat, they were immediately at the shore. The calmness of the storm and it’s timing of their arrival at the shore leaves an unexplained 2 miles covered. God’s presence makes time & distance pass quickly, our life is a vapour in the abundant life with Jesus, James 4:14. We should delight in getting to stay busy for Jesus every day of our life, not just on Sundays.

Key Texts:  Mt 14:13-21, 15:32-39, Mk 6:30-44, 8:1-10, Lk 9:10-17, Jn 6:1-14

Bread was part of the staple daily diet in the Jewish economy.  Mary & Joseph would have used public and possibly private ovens for baking bread everyday to feed Jesus and his brothers & sisters.  Jesus was raised on it and is often quoted, “Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God“, Matthew 4:4.  Jesus taught that we need spiritual food as well as physical food & drink.  Historically, the Jews talked of bread as representing the whole substance of humanity’s physical needs.  Ezekiel calls bread the ‘staff of life’ three times, Ezk. 4:16, 5:16 & 14:13.  Jews also talked of the bread of tears, sorrows, wickedness & deceit, as part of daily life, Psalm 127:2, 80:5, Proverbs 4:17, 20:17.  When Jesus claimed his identity was the bread of life, he was referring to the essential part of spiritual survival and salvation.  Jesus said he came for us to have abundant life, (Jn 10:10) therefore, Jesus is the beginning of a rich lifestyle, filled with wisdom, righteousness, power and purity, glorifying God now and forever more.

This is the only work of  miraculous power which all four gospels contain.   2Kg 4:1-7 may be similar.  You’ve got to be hungry before God can fill you, Luk 1:53, God cannot fill hands that are full of junk. Jesus asked his disciples to do what seemed impossible.  Realize that we  can do what Jesus asks WITH HIS POWER, Lk 9:13ff, Jn 6:6. Philips faith was to  grow to believe Is 55:1‑2ff, was true, Philip was to buy bread from the Lord.   The disciples found they only had 5 little barley rolls and 2 sardine‑like fish  which was a very  small meal, but in the hands of Jesus, little was very much.  We are not to doubt that what we have is little, put ourselves in  Jesus’ hands and let him work through us and we will see that we can do much  for others, we are VALUABLE!  Remember that the overabundance of God’s bles­sings are not to be wasted, Jn 6:12.

After Jesus performed the miracle of feeding over 5000 people bread & fish, he used the bread as an illustration of his own purpose for humanity, while speaking in the Capernaum Synagogue, Jn. 6:1-63.  Jesus made reference to his flesh and his words being like bread.  Therefore we can see Jesus today as the bread of life in his words we read in the Bible and in the communion we share on the Lord’s Day.  Christians held the Apostle’s teaching and the Lord’s communion as an essential part of their worship, Acts 2:37-42.  We know their teaching contained the words of Jesus and the communion as the body of Christ, or bread of life, from which their daily spiritual life was maintained.  It was so important to Paul, that he designed his journeys to incorporate the Lord’s Days activities of communion and the Apostles teachings every first day of the week, Acts 20:1-7.  The Spirit of Christ was with them and they enjoyed the bread of life.   The first day of the week became so important to them, that John describes it as “The Lord’s Day”, Rev. 1:10.  The wonderful reward for Christians that overcome sin, is described as ‘hidden manna’, Rev. 2:17.   Which is an obvious reference to miraculous food from God while Moses led the freed Hebrews out of Egypt, Numb. 11:4-9. Jesus refers to it in Jn. 6:32-33.

Spiritual food is taught and offered in different ways.  The Hebrew writer spoke of the meat & milk of God’s word, Heb. 5:11-6:6.  Paul spoke of spiritual food, being Jesus himself, 1st Cor. 10:1-4.  Peter said we should desire the milk of God’s word as a baby yearns for milk, so we may be saved, 1st Peter 2:1-3.  With this accepted in our hearts, we cannot over emphasize our need to make Jesus the bread of our life.    Do you digest the words of Jesus and commune with his body?

Key Text: Matthew 14:1-12, Mark 6:14-29, Luke 9:7-9

John was in prison because he had preached that it was sinful for Herod to be living with or be married to his brother Philip’s wife, Herodias, Lk. 3:19. Previously John was forcefully proclaiming Jesus was the Christ, which gave him Herod’s attention. John’s message about Jesus had no miraculous signs, but was regarded as true, (Jn.10:40-42). This teaches us that our message about Christ should put us in the position of defining moral standards for the lost. If we do, draw the line, then those who love truth will get to hear more about how to be saved in Christ and who He really is and what He really deserves from us. While John suffered imprisonment he came to doubt his own message, if Jesus were indeed the Christ. Sometimes we along with John and Thomas may struggle with doubts. Remember Jesus made no move to free John. John may not have understood that Jesus did not dogmatically proclaim his Deity or Messiahship lest he be prematurely arrested and crucified for sedition rather than for his teaching and divine person. Our doubts can ruin our faith, if we do not persevere in God’s viewpoint and trust in His timing. Keep searching and “sending messengers” like John did, Lk. 7:18-23.

Jesus told John’s disciples to tell John what they had seen and heard from his ministry, recalling the fulfilment of Isaiah’s prophecy in Isaiah 35:5, Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped, the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are (ceremonially) cleaned, healed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them. John would be more than familiar with Isa. 61:1. John would take the gospel being preached to the poor as proof for the Messiahship, because only God would use phenomenal physical miracles to bolster a message to the poor, not the rich who would distort it for a physical reign. Paul later ascribed to the power of God in the message, Romans 1:16. One of the beatitudes of Jesus is Blessed is he who shall find no occasion of stumbling in me.” Lk. 7:23. John made no other inquiries of Jesus’ Messiahship.  He accepted the evidence presented by Jesus, He here praised John more than he praised any other person at any time during his ministry, Mt. 11:11.

Herod was one evil man! Matthew 14:9, The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he ordered that Salome’s request be granted. The Pharisees knew Herod wanted to kill Jesus too, Luke 13:31, 32, At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, “Leave this place and go somewhere else.  Herod wants to kill you.”  He replied, “Go tell that fox, ‘I will drive out demons and heal people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.’ Just like Jesus we should imitate their faithfulness even in the face of death. Are we surprised that King Herod was ready to believe that John the Baptist had been raised from the dead?  Pythagoras’ theory of the transmigration of souls was in vogue at that time.  Herod’s guilt may also have made him susceptible to beliefs he ordinarily may not have otherwise entertained. Herod’s advisors had differing but similar views saying: Jesus was Elijah raised from the dead or Jesus was one of the great prophets of the Old Testament who had returned from the dead. But Herod was adamant.  “John, whom I have beheaded, he is risen.” Compare Matthew 16:13-14. Aquila & Priscilla imitated this faith, Romans 16:4, can we?

Had you rather be John in the prison or Herod at the eternal judgment? God’s judgment at length found Herod.  He was defeated by Aretas in a great battle and put to ignominious flight.  Herodias and Herod were banished by the Roman Senate to Lyons by the Emperor Caligula, where they both perished miserably.  Salome fell into some treacherous ice over which she was passing in such a manner that her head was caught while the rest of her body sank into the water.  She perished when her head was (practically) severed by the sharp ice. They died in dishonor, in obscurity in a distant land!  So much for Herod Antipas and his second wife Herodias.

Key Texts: Matthew 9:18‑26, Mark 5:21-43, Luke 8:40‑56
 

Jairus was a religious leader, high in his social order, managing the Synagogue at Capernaum.  Since many of God’s miracles had been shown through Jesus in Galilee, his identity was now getting wider acceptance. For a Jewish Ruler of a Synagogue to bow and give adoration to Jesus is shocking, Mt. 9:18. Why? Because Jairus would have read, lived and taught the shema (Dt. 6:4), repeatedly, there is only one God. How could Jairus believe his monotheistic worship was now towards a mere man in Jesus and simultaneously be in the Temple at Jerusalem, as well as enthroned in Heaven? Isaiah 40:21-22. Did Jairus have an inkling of the trinity? Genesis 1 does, Gen. 1:1-3, 26, Jn. 1:9, 8:12. It is curious that the whole event circles around Jairus and not his daughter. We do not even know the little 12 year old’s name, but only her Dad’s name, Jairus. It means ‘enlightener’, therefore even he had been enlightened by God. The light of the world had revealed exactly who God was to Jairus, and he was convinced there was power for mercy on his daughter.  Are we not to be lights in this world? Mat. 5:14.  He began to worship Jesus  because his needs were greater than his pride. When we realize we have more needs than we have resources, we can then be open–hearted enough to accept the truth of God’s light when we see it.  The good father that Jairus was, had a love greater for his daughter than for himself, and when he couldn’t help her, he knew a man who could.  It is our responsibility to realize that our needs are bigger than our pride, many times it takes a great crisis to wake us up to that fact, but it shouldn’t ever be ignored.  In this event,  Jairus shows us clear steps in trusting Jesus.

First we must humble our self.  We can not have Jesus physically here overcoming death for every ones dying  loved one, but we can submit to Him in order to attain eternal life for ourself, James 4:7‑10.  What are some ways we can submit to Him?

Secondly we must request help.  Jairus is making intercession, and this is the duty of a royal priesthood, 1Peter 2:9.  Jesus  teaches us in Matthew 6:11, to make a daily request for daily needs.  Asking, makes us aware of what we need and who the giver is.  Keeping our minds in the correct place.  How often do we give thanks for healing, for gifts, for even food? But do we first make request when we immediately see the need.  When Jesus hears the bad news of the little girl being dead, he “immediately” saw the need in Jairus’ heart for reassurance, and Jesus pronounced the truth quickly, Lk. 8:49-50.  

Thirdly, be patient and ever mindful of His power.  Jairus did this when he stayed in the crowd excited in seeing the woman healed, but when the men  came and confirmed that his daughter died, did he give up?  No, against the  odds, against the laughing people at Jesus’ remark, he patiently kept believing.  Trials are an  opportunity for us to exercise our faith. We can not afford to give up on God,  James 1:2‑4.

The woman who was healed had persevered in believing in the power of God in Jesus by using every ounce of her strength that was left, to just touch the hem of his garment. Numbers 15:37-41 shows how faithful Jews were all commanded to remind themselves of their duty to keep God’s law and share in His holiness by having this blue trimmed and tasselled hem on their garment. It was somehow a channel of faith and power from her to Jesus, because through it, He felt the power to heal her flow. The power was so effective that it caused her blood to immediately stop, after having haemorrhaged for too long.

Key Text: Mt 8:28‑34, 9:1, Mk 5:1‑21, Lk 8:26‑40

The entrance of Jesus into the world affected the spirit worlds’ activity.  The  O.T. acknowledges evil spirits, Lv 19:31, but in the N.T., they are  regarded as personalities within living bodies, Js 2:19.  The only occasion of  the activity of the spirit world recorded in the OT is ISam 28:8‑14.  However,  after Jesus arrives, demons possess people, hurting them and overtaking their  lives, ruling them, until Jesus meets up with them. Satan and Jesus were in a battle for the welfare of the human soul Lk 10:17‑20.  

The Demon’s attitude & request: Lk 11:24‑26, They want to rest and dwell in man, seeking arid places.  Taking over the mans life, turning him violent, Mt 8:28.  They had a sarcastic attitude toward Jesus who held  power they couldn’t do anything about, Mt 8:29‑31.  They know what is coming to  them and they are on a mission of spite & revenge, 2Pt 2:4ff, from which God can  deliver us from. But they are ignorant of God’s timing. They could only beg to be sent into the pigs and then the pigs were  destroyed, being sent into water and drowning, Mk 5:13. 

Jesus’ attitude: Mt 8:10, He differentiated from sickness and demon possession. He addressed them as persons and they reacted with super‑human knowledge, Mk  5:8‑12, Mt 8:29.  He silenced and ordered the offended demons, Lk 4:34ff. Thankfully he let them go into the pigs, instead of the pigs’ farmers, who would later reject Jesus. The naked man was clothed. Lk. 8:27, 35. Where did his clothes come from? The public couldn’t believe it and were terrified that the Jewish miracle worker Jesus may destroy more of their unclean business for the sake of a sick person. He was given the privilege of telling others about God’s mercy and power.  Acts 16:17-18, shows that God doesn’t want the truth put forward in unholy ways, or by contradictory means.  The Demon may have known the truth, but was not allowed to spread it for long.  Evangelism is a privilege.  Remember God used the Devil to test Job, (Job 1:17-19). If we keep feeding on the gospel of Christ, the Devil will lose in our life. This is one of the few times Jesus tells the healed to tell others, usually they were  told to be quiet, Lk. 8:55‑56. But outside Israel, it was safe to publicly make known His Messiahship, as He did in Samaria with the woman at the well.

The People: They had never seen such power and were wary of the unknown. Jesus made them very uneasy, to the point of rejection. They cared more for their dead pigs and the money they made, than the two people cleansed.  Humanities condition doesn’t have to be blind, Acts 13:9‑11, we too have a choice. God’s wrath will not wait forever…

The reason humanity finds love so peculiar and powerful is because God is love!

Love is not the side-effect of hormones in youth, nor is it just the devoted decision of duty-bound spouses. God is love, 1John 4:8-16. His love is spread today throughout the world by the Holy Spirit in our hearts, Romans 5:5. The love of our heavenly Father God is expressed by David the Psalmist in Psa. 103:13, as compassion for little children.  Most earthly fathers show affectionate compassion to their little children, but refrain when they grow older. However, mothers often continue showing this kind of love on into old age. However, God says through John, that all the Christians he wrote to, were “little children”, 1^st John 5:21. No matter how much we mature spiritually, is it possible to be looked upon by God as little children? King David felt a compassionate love towards God and sang about it, Psa. 18:1.

If we wonder why the love of God is so illusive or confusing, consider what God says loving Him is keeping His commandments, Jesus said, “If you love Me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15).  C.S. Lewis in “Mere Christianity”, wrote about love, “do not sit trying to manufacture feelings. Ask yourself this, if I were sure that I love God, what would I do about that certainty? When you have found the answer, go do it. Christian love is an affair of the will. If we are trying to do His will we are obeying the commandment, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God’, He will give us feelings of love if He pleases. We cannot create them for ourselves and we should not demand them as a right. The greatest thing to remember is that, though our feelings come and go, His love for us does not waver. His love endures and pursues us constantly, at whatever cost to us and whatever cost to Him”.

What exactly does God love? Humanity, Jn. 3:16, Romans 5:8.  But at the same time, he also hates whatever the world exalts, Luke 16:15.

God loves the Christ immeasurably, John 15:9 & 17:26, but He also forsook Him on the cross, Matthew 27:46.

God loves the church, Ephesians 2:4 & 5:29, but He truly hates the false ideas and sin in the church, Rev. 2:6 & 15.

God loves a cheerful giver, 2^nd Corinthians 9:7, but he also killed Ananias & Sapphira for lying about how much they gave!

God’s love endures forever, as both the Psalmist sings (Psalm 100:5), and Jesus explains in the story of the prodigal son, Luke 15:20.

Do we pray that the Father’s love is with us, and actively present in our daily lives? They that are perverse in heart are an abomination to God, but such as live right are God’s delight. Proverbs 11:20. Where do we get the power to live right with hearts that are true? The good news of Jesus Christ, Romans 1:16. Wherein we find faith is the victory!

Key Texts: Proverbs 22:6, Matthew 19:13-15, Mark 10:13-16, Luke 18:15-17.

If we want to raise our children with the best possible upbringing and standards, we must take spiritual parenting seriously. Whether we are parents or grand-parents, matters not, because a child’s memory is forming better in childhood, than for the rest of his or her entire life. A parent or grand-parent’s actions and words can leave a life-long impression on children, so make sure it is a spiritual impression and not just a physical one.

Any event repeatedly recorded by the Holy Spirit insures that we get the message of importance in what Jesus is doing when He blesses the little children.  Jesus hugged the children and laid hands on them, blessing them.  Jesus asked for the parents to come back after his disciples sent them away, thinking it was unimportant, so let us treat this subject with the same importance as Jesus does.  What exactly is Jesus doing here in blessing the children?  It included prayer.  Is there a difference between Jesus praying for children, and us praying for children? Mt. 19:13 

THE PARENTS: There is a loveliness in Jesus Christ that anyone could see.  It is easy to think of these mothers in Palestine feeling that the touch of a man like that on their children’s heads and his prayers would bring a blessing, even if they did not understand why.  But it was an early custom for Jewish mothers to bring babies entering into their first birthday to Rabbis and ask for prayers and blessings.  The Jews didn’t observe birthdays, but this custom was the closest thing to it.  Note: Jesus called both the parents and children, Luke 18:16.

THE DISCIPLES: Jesus was angry at his disciples for talking sternly to the mothers, he might have been angry at one of two things:  Either they were too impatient and over-protective of his welfare.  OR,  they were lacking in grace & knowledge as to the importance of the mother’s requests.  A REQUEST for prayer should never, never be denied.  There is a spiritual need being sought for,  God wants it filled and the disciples were actively working against his will, so the next time we hear someone ask, “PRAY FOR ME”, we had better count ourselves obliged to do so, or we are working against God’s will.

THE CHILDREN: “Of such,” said Jesus “is the Kingdom of God.”  What is it about the child that Jesus liked and valued so much? There are at least five attributes of children we should remember and restore in ourselves.

There is the child’s humility.  Ordinarily children are embarrassed by prominence and publicity. Little children are not born to think in terms of pride, position and prestige.  They have not yet learned to discover the importance of self. Mat. 18:3-4. But sometime sooner or later, children become exhibitionists, this is always the product of misguided adult treatment, and it sadly and usually starts early, from untrained and unwise parents.

There is the child’s trust. A child’s trust is also seen in the child’s confidence in other people.  He does not expect any person to be bad.  He will make friends with a perfect stranger.  A great man once said that the greatest compliment ever paid him was when a little boy came up to him, a complete stranger, and asked him to tie his shoe lace.  The child has not yet learned to suspect the world.  He still believes the best about others.  Sometimes that very trust leads him into danger, for there are those who are totally unworthy of it and who abuse it, but that trust is a lovely attribute. Can we have this kind of trust with our fellow Christian brothers & sisters?  Php 4:1-3, 1^st Cor. 16:3.

The child’s sense of wonder: The British Poet Tennyson in 1880, tells of going early one morning into the bedroom of his little grandson and seeing the child “worshipping the sunbeam playing on the bedpost.”  As we grow older we begin to live in a world which has grown grey and tired.  Little children live in a world with a sheen on it, wherein God is always near.  We should remember our Creator has a sense of imagination and humour in His creation, you can see it in the many colours of flowers and in the weird shapes of animals, just a glance at a monkey or ant-eater can bring a smile, imagination and creativity to a child. Jesus saw great glory in flowers, Mat. 6:28-30,!  By all means, put away childish (foolish) things as Paul did, as when he became a man, but do not forsake God’s gifts of beauty, praise, glory and creativity, He made us in His image, Gen. 1:26, which includes the ability to create!

The child has an innate desire to imitate their parents.  This is commanded of Christians, “Be holy, for I am holy”, 1Peter 1:16.  Little children are always trying to wear Mothers shoes, or use Fathers tools, their inclination to imitate their parents is indicative of the way Christians ought to try and imitate our Heavenly Father.  He is holy, so lets live our lives as pure as we can, and set our life apart for a godly purpose, so that our children’s appetite for a spiritual life will grow.

KNOW YOUR CHILD’S NEEDS:1. Confident Compassion. Showing children you love them and encourage them in truth. 1John 4:7, Mark 10:16, Colossians 3:21, 1^st Corinthians 13:7.

2. Consistent Counsel. Being prepared to always offer advice without shoving it down their throat. Deuteronomy 6:7, Psalm 145:13, Proverbs 24:3, Matthew 28:18-20

3. Correction & Challenges. When appropriate, being able to prove the consequences of disobedience, and set them goals for a reward. Hebrews 12:6, Proverbs 19:18, Luke 16:10, Ephesians 4:29.

4. Commemorative Celebration. Ecclesiastes 11:7- 12:1. Have your children remember good things (blessings) from God and praise Him for them! Philippians 4:4