Be Still And Know

Matthew 1.21 NLT “And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” Giving a name to a child is a huge moment for parents. If you have ever had that privilege. I am sure you will remember the conversations about the various possibilities. You will probably have thought about names that have been particularly important in your family together with names that you have always liked. But as you make the decision you know that the child will have to carry that name for life, in one form or another, and so you will want to be extremely careful. We have three children and I well remember the long discussions about the various names that we could use. Our third child is called Bethany for the simple reason that that is where my wife and I first met. I was leading a student group around Israel and my future wife was one of the students and we were staying in a cheap hotel on the West Bank very near Bethany. Many have asked us since then what we might have called

Matthew 1.20 NLT As Joseph considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit.” This account is so familiar to us that we need to take a moment to try to imagine what the experience must have been like for Joseph. In all probability he would have been in his 20s and Mary may well have been a teenager. He was clearly a good man and he took his Jewish faith very seriously. His decision to end the relationship quietly was understandable but he must have been experiencing a riot of emotions. He was thinking of Mary, himself, his family’s name and reputation and his desire to do what God wanted. As he turned over these things in his mind he had a dream in which he was addressed with his family title. He was Joseph, belonging to the line of the great King David. In the dream he was told not to be fearful but to take Mary as his wife because the baby was a

Matthew 1.19 NLT "Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly." At the centre of the account of Jesus’ birth is a man about whom we know very little. Joseph was the legal father of Jesus and Matthew’s gospel begins with Jesus’ family line through Joseph. But after the birth of Jesus we meet Joseph on only one occasion. That was when the family went for a Passover visit to Jerusalem when Jesus was 12 years old. We get the distinct impression that Mary was a widow by the time Jesus’ public ministry began. One verse in the New Testament tells us that Joseph was an artisan (Matthew 13.55) and it has been generally assumed that he was a carpenter but we can’t even be sure of that. He could have been a worker with iron or stone. Although we know so very little about this extremely important man, we know about his character. He was described as a “righteous man”, which means that he was concerned to be obedient to t

Matthew 1.16-17 NLT "Mary gave birth to Jesus, who is called the Messiah. All those listed above include fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the Babylonian exile, and fourteen from the Babylonian exile to the Messiah." Matthew shows here how the Old Testament has prepared the way for the coming of Jesus. He points out that there were 14 generations from the time of Abraham, the father of the nation, up to the reign of King David. This was undoubtedly the high-water mark in the Old Testament. David was the one who established Jerusalem as the city of God and who prepared the way for the building of the magnificent Temple. After that everything went catastrophically downhill in the next fourteen generations ending with the people being taken off into exile in Babylon. The following 14 generations were ones in which the prophetic voice was almost entirely silent. There is a four hundred year gap between the final book of the Old Testament and the coming of Christ. However, thro

Matthew 1.1 & 16 NLT "This is a record of the ancestors of Jesus the Messiah, a descendant of David and of Abraham ... Joseph was the husband of Mary. Mary gave birth to Jesus, who is called the Messiah." If you were writing a book about someone famous I suspect you wouldn’t start like this. But Matthew was writing his gospel for people from a Jewish background and so it was vital that he started with an account of Jesus’ ancestors. It was crucial that they could clearly see where Jesus fitted in the history of the people of Israel. Matthew points out that there were three groups of 14 generations. The first ran from Abraham to David; the second went up to the exile in Babylon: and the third concluded with the arrival of Jesus, whose legal father was Joseph. This firmly placed Jesus in the family line of David, and so he could be properly called the Son of David. The list of people in this chapter doesn’t seem to make great reading, but if you look at the individuals mentioned it is absolutely gripping. T

Psalm 81.10-11 NLT ”For it was I, the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it with good things. But no, my people wouldn’t listen. Israel did not want me around.” We probably all know the feeling when someone doesn’t want us around. It’s painful. For some reason they don’t come out with it plainly and clearly, but we get the clear impression that we are not welcome. But how much more tragic it is when people decide that they don’t want God around, and that’s how the psalmist described Israel. He was the God who had led them out of slavery in Egypt. He was the God of salvation, but time and again they rejected him and refused to listen to him. But we are not just talking about ancient history. We are describing our society today. The majority of people totally ignore God. They don’t want him around because they think that he will spoil their fun. They are concerned that they will lose their freedom. However, we need to take every opportunity to inform

Psalm 80.19 NLT "Turn us again to yourself, O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies. Make your face shine down upon us. Only then will we be saved." We all know that look, when someone looks at us with their full attention and warmth. The look tells us everything that we need to know – that we are welcome and that they are on our side. On three occasions in this psalm, Asaph expresses his longing that God’s face would shine upon the people. This psalm was probably written at the time of the fall of Samaria to the Assyrians in the 8th century BC. The destruction of the ten northern tribes left little Judah terribly exposed and the people feared for their lives. In their despair they turned to God and longed that he would turn his face to them and give them his blessing. The fact is that God longed to give his people his blessing. That is what any loving father longs to do, and the Old Testament makes clear to us that it was consistently God’s desire. Today’s verse reminds us of the Aaronic Blessing which we find in Numb

Psalm 78.2-4 NLT "I will teach you hidden lessons from our past — stories we have heard and known, stories our ancestors handed down to us. We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord, about his power and his mighty wonders." In a speech in the House of Commons in 1948, Winston Churchill paraphrased Santayana when he said “Those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it.” This was precisely the concern of Asaph in this particular psalm. In this long psalm he reflected on five centuries of the life of the people of God. Time and again they had disobeyed God, but he had consistently responded with love and forgiveness. Asaph was concerned that future generations should be reminded of their history, and of the gracious way in which God had provided for his people. Teaching the next generation about God always needs to be a priority for the church. I often find that the approach to children’s and youth work is incredibly pa

Matthew 14.29-30 NLT So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted. It was about three o’clock in the morning when this took place. The disciples were in a boat on the Sea of Galilee and had been battling with a major storm. Then suddenly a stranger appeared to them walking on the water and they shouted out in terror, “It’s a ghost!” Jesus then revealed that it was him and that they had no need to be afraid. It was typical of Peter that he should be the first to respond and he suggested that Jesus should invite him to come to him, walking on the water. Jesus duly invited him and Peter attempted to walk on the water, but with disastrous results. Within seconds he was crying out to the Lord to save him. In one way Peter’s attempt to walk on the lake was really impressive. Although his faith was clearly not as strong as it needed to be, he did at least make the attemp

Matthew 14.23 NLT "After sending them home, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night fell while he was there alone." Finally, at the end of an exhausting day, which had seen 5000 people miraculously fed, Jesus had time to be alone with his Father. There’s no doubt that he had planned for this to have happened some hours earlier but now, at last, the time has come. It’s interesting to see how important such times were for Jesus. Because he was the perfect Son of God one might have thought that he didn’t need such times, but clearly these moments of intimacy were crucial for him and we find him at prayer on a number of occasions. If Jesus needed to spend time alone with his Father, clearly we do as well. It’s good to be busy doing God’s work, and enriching to spend time in fellowship with his people, but we all need to have time when we are alone with God. That relationship will only develop if we spend time with him. It’s a principle which is true of all relationships. There is no way in which a

Matthew 14.17 NLT “But we have only five loaves of bread and two fish!” the disciples answered. Jesus had just ordered his disciples to feed the vast crowd. They were understandably overwhelmed by the challenge. How on earth were they going to do it? They pointed out the absurdity of the situation by informing Jesus that they only had five loaves and two fish. It was a complete joke! Anyone could see that they couldn’t possibly feed the thousands of hungry people with such meagre resources. The problem with the disciples was they hadn’t counted on Jesus. They looked at the little packed lunch that they had available to them and had concluded that the situation was completely hopeless. We all know the end of the story. Jesus blessed the loaves and fishes and there was not only enough food to feed the crowd, but plenty left over. What the disciples had to learn was that however little their resources they needed to put them into Jesus’ hands for him to bless. I am quite sure that, in later life, they often

Matthew 14.15-16 NLT That evening the disciples came to Jesus and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away so they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves.” But Jesus said, “That isn’t necessary—you feed them.” You can’t blame the disciples. They were probably exhausted trying to keep up with Jesus, who always seemed to have energy to minister to people. When they come to Jesus at the end of this busy day, they feel that Jesus ought to send the crowds away. They use the sensible argument that they were in a remote place and that it was getting late and so it would be good to encourage the people to go and get some food. But Jesus turns the tables on the disciples. Rather than agreeing with them, he tells them to feed the people. They needed to take responsibility for sorting out the situation. When we see situations of need it’s always a relief when we can see someone else who is willing to respond. But that isn’t always the case. Sometimes the Lord tel

Matthew 14.13-14 NLT 'As soon as Jesus heard the news, he left in a boat to a remote area to be alone. But the crowds heard where he was headed and followed on foot from many towns. Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.' The background to this story is the gruesome murder of John the Baptist. Herod Antipas was the ruler of Galilee at the time. He is not to be confused with his father Herod the Great who was king at the time of Jesus’ birth. Herod Antipas had married his half-brother’s wife and John the Baptist had bravely spoken out against the marriage. This had greatly angered Herod but he was fearful of taking any action against John because everyone spoke so well of him. One day Herod’s daughter had a birthday party at which she danced so beautifully that he promised unwisely to give her whatever she asked for. Herod’s new wife knew exactly what she wanted and prompted Herodias to ask for the head of John the Baptist on a tray. Herod

Matthew 13.54-55 NLT Jesus returned to Nazareth, his hometown. When he taught there in the synagogue, everyone was amazed and said, “Where does he get this wisdom and the power to do miracles?” Then they scoffed, “He’s just the carpenter’s son.” I suspect that we have all known the hurt of being put down by somebody, and it hurts. Even if it happened many years ago, I suspect that you can still remember exactly where you were, and every word that was said. People’s cruel words often disfigure a person’s life. This may not have been the intention of the person who spoke them, but the words live on and continue to do damage. This is especially true if the words were spoken by parents, siblings or partners. Jesus had to withstand many put downs. In our reading today people were so amazed by his teaching and miracles that they couldn’t believe that he could have been a local boy, and the son of a carpenter. They knew the family and it all seemed incredible. If he had been the son of a religious leader in Jeru

Matthew 13.52 NLT Then Jesus added, “Every teacher of religious law who becomes a disciple in the Kingdom of Heaven is like a homeowner who brings from his storeroom new gems of truth as well as old.” When I was nine or ten years old, one of the great delights of my life was to visit my grandmother’s house. She lived quite close to our home and I was allowed to go and see her whenever I liked. Her house was like an Aladdin’s cave for me. It was full of generations of treasures and, whenever I found something that appealed to me, I would take it to my grandmother and almost always she would ask me the right question which was, “Would you like to have it dear?” Many of the things she gave me, and particularly her postcard collection from before the First World War, lit up my interest in history and geography and gave me a much bigger appreciation of life. I thank God for her generosity. In this parable Jesus speaks about the teacher of the law who had a great knowledge of the Old Testament teaching. His kno

Matthew 13.45-46 NLT Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it! In the ancient world pearls were prized as highly as gold. Although we might not think of pearls that way, even today the most valuable pearls can be worth millions of pounds. Their beauty has always attracted interest and in Jesus’ time they were mainly found in the Red Sea or Persian Gulf. Pearls were also found in far off Britain and indeed that was one of the things that attracted Julius Caesar to these islands. The point of the story is clear. The merchant was always on the look out for the very best pearls. They all had a charm and a beauty but, like any expert, he could easily spot the best and, when he found it, he was determined to own it. Nothing would get in the way. He gladly sold up everything he owned in order to buy this one precious pearl. Jesus said that the Kingdom of Heaven is just the same. It is so

Matthew 13.31-32 NLT Here is another illustration Jesus used: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of garden plants; it grows into a tree, and birds come and make nests in its branches.” This is one of the most famous of Jesus’ parables and the point is clear. Often the Kingdom of Heaven expresses itself in small and humble ways. It doesn’t attract much interest or attention and is overlooked by most people. But just like a tiny mustard seed that is so small that it can easily be missed, or blown away by the wind, it can grow up into something vast. In the Middle East a mustard seed can grow into a twelve foot tree which can provide a home for many birds. Jesus is clearly telling us not to look down on things just because they are small. When God is at work miracles are just around the corner! I have often been a part of small Christian organisations which have looked seriously unimpressive to any observer. I also t

Matthew 13.30 NLT ”Let both grow together until the harvest. Then I will tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds, tie them into bundles, and burn them, and to put the wheat in the barn.” In order to understand this parable we need to be clear about the kind of weeds that Jesus was referring to. They were called bearded darnel which, in the early stages of their growth, look exactly like wheat so they have to be left alone. As they grow, they start to look very different but by that time their roots are so entwined with the roots of the wheat that it is impossible to remove them without destroying the crop. As a result, it is necessary to allow the darnel to grow until harvest time and then the separation can take place. The grain of the bearded darnel is slightly poisonous and it can cause dizziness and sickness. The point of the parable is clear. Jesus was telling his disciples that they were living in a world in which there were good and bad people. But it was even more complicated than that because s

Matthew 13.23 NLT Jesus said, “The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!” The parable of the sower mixes realism with huge encouragement. It confronts us with the fact that when the word of God is spoken there is a wide range of reactions. Some people just don’t want to know. Others are incredibly excited for a short while and then forget all about it. And yet others receive the word and start applying it to their lives in a serious way but are then distracted by the pressures and temptations of life. Anyone who has been involved in sharing the Good News of Jesus will recognise that all of that is an accurate reflection of life. However, and here’s the massive encouragement, when God’s word finds a home in the right soil it doesn’t merely cause growth to happen but leads to an enormous harvest. How amazing for a farmer to look at his crop and realise that this is 30,

Matthew 13.20-21 NLT 'The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word.' These days farmers sow seed with great precision and very little is wasted, but in Jesus’ time it was a much more haphazard process. Skilled as the farmer might be, when he scattered his seed with his hand it was bound to land in a variety of places. It landed on the path, in rocky soil or amongst thorns but only a proportion would find good soil. Jesus used this parable to describe the very different ways in which people responded to his message, and we can easily recognise the truth of his words today. The seed that landed on the rocky soil struggled from the outset because it couldn’t put down adequate roots. It grew fast for a while but soon it keeled over and died. Jesus said that this was like people who heard the message of the K