What Jesus Did

The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus. They wanted to test Jesus. So they asked Jesus to show them a miracle to prove that he was from God. Jesus answered, "When you people see the sunset, you know what the weather will be. If the sky is red, then you say we will have good weather. And in the morning you watch the sunrise. If the sky is dark and red, then you say that it will be a rainy day. These things are signs of the weather. You see these signs in the sky and you know what they...

 

After they ate, Jesus told the people they could go home. Jesus got into the boat and went to the area of Magadan.

—Matthew 15:39

Key Thought
Sometimes religious insiders—people like myself and other church goers—get to thinking we have the inside track on things. We know the Scriptures. We know the songs in worship. We know the Sunday School lessons. We know the church lingo. Then along comes a series of events in Jesus' ministry that duly humbles us.
This whole series of events...

 

Jesus told the people to sit on the ground. Jesus took the seven loaves of bread and the fish. Then Jesus gave thanks to God for the food. Jesus divided the food and gave it to the followers. The followers gave the food to the people. All the people ate and were full. After this, the followers filled seven baskets with the pieces of food that were not eaten. There were about 4,000 men there that ate. There were also women and children that ate.

—Matthew 15:35-38

Key Thought
Jesus...

 

Jesus called his followers to him and said, "I feel sorry for these people. They have been with me three days, and now they have nothing to eat. I don't want to send them away hungry. They might faint while going home." The followers asked Jesus, "Where can we get enough bread to feed all these people? We are far away from any town."

—Matthew 15:32-33

Key Thought
I'm not big on summer re-runs of TV programs. Jesus isn't too keen on re-runs either. After having fed the 5000, it seems...

 

Then Jesus left that place and went to the shore of Lake Galilee. Jesus went up on a hill and sat down. Many, many people came to Jesus. These people brought many other sick people and put the sick people before Jesus. There were people that could not walk, blind people, crippled people, deaf people, and many others. Jesus healed all these people. People were amazed when they saw that people that could not speak were able to speak again. Crippled people were made strong again. People that...

 

Then the woman came to Jesus again. She bowed before Jesus and said, "Lord, help me!" Jesus answered, "It is not right to take the children's bread and give it to the dogs." The woman said, "Yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat the pieces of food that fall from their master's table." Then Jesus answered, "Woman, you have great faith! I will do the thing you wanted me to do." And at that time the woman's daughter was healed.

—Matthew 15:25-28

Key Thought
In a world where everyone feels as...

 

Jesus left that place and went to the area of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from that area came to Jesus. The woman shouted, "Lord, Son of David, please help me! My daughter has a demon inside her, and she is suffering very much." But Jesus did not answer the woman. So the followers came to Jesus and begged him, "Tell the woman to go away. She is following us and shouting." Jesus said, "God sent me only to the lost people of Israel (the Jews)."

—Matthew 15:21-24

Key Thought...

 

Peter said, "Explain to us what you said earlier to the people." Jesus said, "You still have trouble understanding? Surely you know that all the food that enters a person's mouth goes into the stomach. Then that food goes out of the body. But the bad things a person says with his mouth come from the way a person thinks. And these are the things that make a person wrong. All these bad things begin in a person's mind: evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual sins, stealing, lying, saying bad...

 

Then the followers came to Jesus and asked, "Do you know that the Pharisees are angry because of what you said?" Jesus answered, "Every plant that my Father in heaven has not planted himself will be pulled up by the roots. Stay away from the Pharisees. They lead the people, but they are like blind men leading other blind men. And if a blind man leads another blind man, then both men will fall into a hole."

—Matthew 15:12-14

Key Thought
The powerful implication of Jesus' words for his...

 

Jesus called the people to him. Jesus said, "Listen and understand what I am saying. It is not the things a person puts in his mouth that make him wrong. It is the things a person says with his mouth that make him wrong."

—Matthew 15:10-11

Key Thought
Wouldn't it be nice if we could make ourselves pure simply by eating the right things? Granted, it is hard to eat the right things. But it's a lot harder for most of us to say and do the right things.
We have all sorts of problems with...