Category: What do you think?

The Book of Matthew

How do you respond when your faith is questioned?

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Floyd Rogers – Texas Gospel Volunteer, Christian writer

Matthew 11:1-6 NASB: When Jesus had finished giving instructions to His twelve disciples, He went on from there to teach and preach in their cities. 2 Now while in prison, John heard about the works of Christ, and he sent word by his disciples, 3 and said to Him, “Are You the Coming One, or are we to look for someone else?” 4 Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: 5 those who are blind receive sight and those who limp walk, those with leprosy are cleansed and those who are deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. 6 And blessed is any person who does not take offense at Me.”  

Matthew 11:1-6 comes immediately after Jesus gave his apostles instructions as they headed out to preach to the lost sheep of the tribe of Israel.  In these verses, John is in prison and sends messengers to Jesus to ask if Jesus is the one, or if it is someone else. John is the one who baptized Jesus, but now that he is in prison for preaching the Gospel he asks if Jesus is the one!

We shouldn’t be surprised that John is in prison for preaching the Gospel. These verses follow Jesus telling his apostles they will be persecuted for delivering his message. An important lesson here is that hard times can make one question if his or her understanding of God’s word is correct. And even an Apostle of Jesus can lose faith.

Matthew told us in earlier verses  that Jesus’ disciples were in a boat with Jesus as a storm hit. Even though Jesus was in the boat with them, they lost faith until Jesus calmed the sea. Now we hear of John asking questions while he is in prison. Some say John lost faith and one could infer this from what Matthew wrote, and it would not be the first time an Apostle lost faith. But I think it’s more likely he’s questioning whether Jesus will be a military-political leader or if someone else is coming to rule on earth.  Could he be questioning his understanding of Messiah? I ask this because Matthew’s theme seems to be to convince Jewish people that Messiah will rule the Kingdom of Heaven.  He uses this phrase 32 times when other Gospel writers exclusively use the phrase Kingdom of God. I think he uses Kingdom of Heaven to drive home his point. 

My point in all this is it’s OK to ask God for faith when we have questions. It’s OK to ask God if we have it wrong. There’s no sense in being dishonest with God because he knows your thoughts whether you express them or not. The apostles in a boat, and John in prison began to have doubts.  But in both cases, they reached out to Jesus for answers rather than let any doubts they have fester. They were short sighted.  Jesus saw the whole picture which ended with his resurrection and salvation for anyone who accepts his call.

Shouldn’t our first response when doubt starts to creep in be to ask Jesus to strengthen our faith and to open our eyes to his will?

What are your thoughts?

Also on the web:

The Book of Matthew

Did Jesus promise a reward for helping those who preach the Gospel?

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Floyd Rogers – Texas Gospel Volunteer, Christian writer

Matthew 10:40-42 NASB: “The one who receives you receives Me, and the one who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. 41 The one who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and the one who receives a righteous person in the name of a righteous person shall receive a righteous person’s reward. 42 And whoever gives one of these little ones just a cup of cold water to drink in the name of a disciple, truly I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.”  (New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation.)

When Jesus gave his disciples instructions as they got ready to preach to the lost sheep of the House of Israel, he spoke of rewards.  I believe this includes rewards for the apostles and for those who helped them. Let’s examine Matthew 10:40-42 and consider what Jesus had to say, the disagreement some people have about verse 42, and the implications for us today.

Jesus has just finished telling his apostles that many will reject the Gospel, and some will get violent. But he also said, “The one who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward…” He added the one who receives a righteous person in the name of a righteous person shall receive a righteous person’s reward. I think it’s clear in this context he is saying the reward of those who help the apostles spread the gospel is the same as that of the apostles who are preaching the gospel and the act of welcoming Jesus’ apostle is the same as the act of welcoming Jesus.  I think a fair analogy from our modern world is the welcoming of an ambassador.  The host country isn’t just welcoming the ambassador, it welcomes the ambassador’s country; the one who sent him or her.

I found there is some disagreement about whom Verse 42 speaks. Jesus tells of the reward given to the person who gives a drink of water to any of these little ones.  Jesus often used the word “children” as a metaphor to describe adults in a spiritual sense. Here, there are at least two groups this metaphor may describe.  I believe Jesus’ metaphor of giving cold water to “little ones” refers to the apostles giving the lost sheep the Gospel, and says the apostles will be rewarded. But I found at least one author who says this refers to the apostles as “little ones” and those who give them a literal drink of cold water will be rewarded. I could argue either way, but at the end of the day, Jesus is talking about rewards given to those who help in carrying out his work.

I think it’s important to note, these are Jesus’ instructions to his apostles as they head out on a specific mission.  Some of the instructions given in the chapter (such as not preaching to the Gentiles or Samaritans) are clearly for this mission only because later they are told to preach to everybody.  But I think since Jesus said, “a prophet,” and not my apostle; and since he spoke of “a righteous person” rather than a specific righteous person, that this applies to all who do this rather than only the people to whom the apostles encountered on this specific mission.  When we help a person spread the gospel, I understand these verses to tell us we share in his or her reward. Could we infer from this a warning about helping those who spread a false doctrine?

What are your thoughts?

Also on the web:

The Book of Matthew

Did Jesus encourage strife and armed conflicts?

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Floyd Rogers – Texas Gospel Volunteer, Christian writer

Matthew 10:34-39 NASB “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I came to turn a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a person’s enemies will be the members of his household. 37 “The one who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and the one who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And the one who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 The one who has found his life will lose it, and the one who has lost his life on My account will find it.  

Jesus instructs his apostles in Matthew 10:34-39 as they head out on a mission. He tells them, “I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. I think this is a good example of scripture that needs context. If read without context it sounds like Jesus wants strife and conflict. Is that really what Jesus says? Let’s look at the text and why it needs context to prevent misunderstanding.

The 10th Chapter of Matthew is Jesus’ instructions to his Apostles as they prepare to go on a mission to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Jesus gave them instructions and told them what to expect on this mission. Verses 34-39 take place within the context of Jesus reminding his disciples just what it means to be an apostle.

When Jesus tells them in verse thirty-four, “… I did not come to bring peace, but a sword…” is he not warning them that people may not act peacefully when they hear the Gospel the apostles preach? I don’t think Jesus is telling them to pick up a literal sword. If this were the case, why did Jesus tell Peter in  Matthew 25:52, “Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword will perish by the sword…”  Jesus here says he is not bringing peace, but a sward. Is it not clear he is using the same metaphor we find in Ephesians 6:17, “And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

There is no compromise when it comes to preaching the Gospel. God’s message supersedes even family members who may get upset. Being an apostle means nothing is more important than the Gospel, and in verse 39 Jesus tells his apostles, “…the one who has found his life will lose it, and the one who has lost his life on my account will find it”

I think it’s clear that Jesus is not saying he want’s strife, but that the apostles should expect it if they preach the Gospel without compromise. Memorizing verses from the Bible is good.  But without context, verses like these could sound as if they are advocating something vastly different from what the author intended.

Also on the web:


Did God blind a man just to teach a lesson?

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John 9:2-3 2 NASB And His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him.  

John 9:2-3 tells us Jesus’ disciples asked him who’s sin caused a man to be blind, his or his parents.  They were convinced that sin from one or the other caused the blindness.  Jesus said neither, but the man’s blindness, “was so that the works of God might be displayed in him.” Does this mean that God blinded the man at birth so that years later Jesus could work a miracle? How would this be fair? I propose that this encounter may not be as it seems if a reader does a fast reading with a Western mindset.

Children who are born blind suffer as a result of a world that became corrupt because of sin; something that happened before their birth or their parent’s birth. Sin corrupted the world before either one arrived on Earth. The apostles didn’t ask if the child’s blindness was caused by sin.  They asked if the cause was his or his parent’s sin. Jesus spoke directly to their question; that is, if it was his or his parent’s sin that cause the blindness. But then he went a little further. He told them a purpose the man’s blindness served: So that God might be displayed in him.  Does this mean God blinded the man at birth so Jesus could work a miracle?  That is one way this sentence could be understood. But if I look at this without a Western cause-and-effect mindset, it could also be understood that Jesus answered their question and went on to answer a more important question than the one they asked.  They seemed to be more interested in knowing why the man was blind rather than helping him.  But as for Jesus, he told them what good could come out of this, then he healed the man. I am not saying my understanding of these verses are Gospel.  I am not a prophet, and I might be wrong. God may have allowed this man to be blind so that good could be worked through his healing. He may have given a purpose to this man’s blindness before he was born.  All we can do is speculate. But no matter why he was blind, is this fair?   

Life is very short, and it not fair. The Bible never claims that life is fair. But this life is not our destination. Life certainly was not fair to the blind man who did nothing to cause his own blindness. Life was also very unfair to Jesus who did nothing to deserve a life of persecution and death by crucifixion. The Bible’s message is not fairness in this life, it’s Salvation for eternity.  And salvation is not a matter of fairness; it’s a matter of Grace and open to all who will accept it.

What are your thoughts?

Also on the web:

The Book of Matthew

Does Matthew 7:1-2 tell me I should not judge the actions of others?

Published on by Texas GospelLeave a comment

Floyd Rogers – Texas Gospel Volunteer, Christian writer

Matthew 7, 1-2 Do not judge, so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.  

It could easily be argued that Matthew 7:12 is one of the most often misquoted New Testament verses. Judge not, so that you will not be judged. Doesn’t this mean we are never to judge? I can’t answer that question without knowing what you mean by judge. And the answer requires us to understand what Jesus meant by “judge.” I think the answer lies in the context in which Jesus made this statement.

Immediately after Jesus told us not to judge, he used a metaphor of removing a log from your own eye before looking at a spec in your neighbor’s eye. It seems to me he’s saying you are to judge, but you need to clean your own act up first. And there’s more. In Verse 15 & 16 he went on to say, “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits.” Isn’t Jesus directly telling us to judge to judge the actions of the prophet. So, how do you reconcile this with the verses telling us not to judge?

I think it’s clear we are to judge the actions of others with one notable restriction. Notice I said judge the actions, not the individual. Only God knows a person’s heart. We can judge a person’s actions when they are contrary to God’s Word. We can see the chaos that surrounds a false prophet that signals they are not teaching God’s Word. Too be clear, when we tell a person they are doing something contrary to what we are told in scripture, they are judged by God’s Word, not by us. As for that notable restriction I mentioned earlier. We are not even to judge the actions of others when we have obvious sin in our lives. I say this because we are told to get rid of the log in our eye before looking for specs in the eyes of others.  

To wrap this all up, you can judge if you mean judging what a person’s actions by what God’s word says. But you are not the judge of them, that’s God’s place only. The scripture says, “for in the way you judge, you will be judged.” I’d rather be judged by God than by a human like me who cannot see a person’s heart. Is it not also true that you open yourself to judgement by others if you walk around with open sin in your own life while pointing fingers. What do you think that would do to your witness?

What are your thoughts about Judgement?

Also on the web:

John MacArthur: Judging Others: The Verse Pagans Love to Quote