"Matthew 9-13"
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Maybe we don't see them as much in the age of ad-free streaming, but chances are you've seen those awkward commercials for oddly named medications, often with frightening side effects. They usually encourage viewers to, "talk to your doctor to see if this medication is right for you." In this week's readings, we'll find the greatest physician speaking profound and healing words to those he meets.
Speaking to the Sick
On Monday (Matt. 9), Jesus speaks forgiveness and healing to the paralyzed man (Matt. 9:1-8). He declares himself the great physician for those sick in their sins (Matt. 9:11-13). Then he speaks to a woman who touched his coat on his way to raise a girl from the dead (Matt. 9:18-26) and to two blind men, restoring their sight (Matt. 9:27-31). He even made a demon-possessed man speak who had previously been mute (Matt. 9:32-24).
- How do you view the spiritually (and physically) sick people around you?
Speaking to (and Through) His Disciples
On Tuesday (Matt. 10), Jesus sends out his disciples on a parallel preaching path with the Spirit's power. If they're concerned about public speaking, Jesus offers some encouragement.
"... do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you" (Matt. 10:19-20).
Then on Wednesday (Matt. 11), John the Baptist sends some of his disciples to ask if Jesus is "the one who is to come" (Matt. 11:3). Jesus speaks a message for John about the signs of the Messiah. When they left, Jesus called John a great prophet, "... Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he" (Matt. 11:11).
- What does John's question teach you about being confident in your understanding of the truth?
Speaking to His Critics
On Thursday (Matt. 12), Jesus faces accusations of breaking the Sabbath because his disciples picked heads of grain, and Jesus healed a man with a withered hand (Matt. 12:1-14). And if that weren't enough, as Jesus healed a blind, mute, and demon-possessed man, they accused him of working for Beelzebul, the prince of demons (Matt. 12:22-24)!
So Jesus addresses their hypocrisy with these chilling words, "You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks" (Matt. 12:34).
- Are you prepared to face opposition like Jesus and his disciples did?
Speaking in Parables
And finally, on Friday (Matt. 13), Jesus began some of his most powerful, yet puzzling teaching — speaking in parables. He shows us the kingdom's unique nature in stories about dirt, plants, treasure, nets, and pearls. The point is to open a window into God's purposes.
- Why do people receive the kingdom in different ways?
- How can God's kingdom coexist with the evil in the world around us?
- And why would someone joyfully sell everything they have for the kingdom, and consider it the most reasonable thing they could do?
