ResponsiveReiding

From Matthew 9:31-34 / Demonically Mute – It is interesting to note how many times muteness and deafness are associated with one being demon-oppressed in Scripture. We cannot make the false logical leap that the deaf and mute are in every or even in most cases demonized. But we can infer the inverse – that the demonized are often deaf and mute.

Why? Scripture never gives a stated answer to that question. But there are somethings we can nevertheless know.

First we know (in the case of the deaf) that Satan and his minions use all means at their disposal to prevent humankind from hearing and believing the Gospel. Romans 10:17 reminds us that faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. In a time when sign language and the such we not yet invented, and communication with the deaf was dreadfully inadequate, it is no wonder – especially when Jesus was about preaching and teaching – that the demonic forces would focus on this means of prevention. A means Jesus confronts and defeats. The most diabolical and cruel means that all the satanic powers can muster are no match for our Redeemer. He delivers His own from every power in the universe in bringing them to salvation. None can ultimately resist His power.

Second, while the word “mute” used in our text can refer either to deafness, the inability to speak or both together (for they often do go together) – we can see how the Enemy of our souls seeks to rob us of our birthright as made in the image of God – and uniquely created to offer up praise. No other creature in our realm is so equipped. Human beings above all others are given the privilege of being able to behold His glory, comprehend something of that glory – and declare that glory. So again, Satan longs to keep us from our privilege and call. But once again Jesus overcomes.

But we must not ignore the fact that the demon powers till work to these same ends today. They block our ears to the Word and bind our tongues from declaring Christ’s praises by distraction, discouragement, distress, disillusionment, and especially disinformation.

How can our ears be filled with the Words of Christ when we are too busy, too drawn off after all sorts of other things – legitimate and illegitimate? When due to all manner of external and internal distractions, we have no time to sit and read and mediate on His Word and hear His voice in it? Or when all other pursuits keep us from gathered worship to sing His praises together and glorify His name with our lips in testimony and song? When we are so wrapped up in the news and our troubles, that nary a word of thanks and praise passes our lips because we are fretting, complaining and declaring all that is going on in the World, but not what Christ has done for us, the surety of His promises and the glories revealed in His Word?

The demons are no less about their business because they do not do it as directly in an individual soul, but have shifted to broader platforms.

But praise God, our Christ overcomes even here. For Christians still take the time to read, study and take in His Word – freed by His grace. And many still lift up the name of Christ in gathered and private worship – delivered from the distracting power of our enemies by the presence of the indwelling Spirit of Christ.

Christ overcomes all the works and machinations of the Devil. Are you demonically mute today? Flee to Jesus. What a deliverer He remains today!

O for a thousand tongues to sing, my Great Redeemer’s praise

The glories my God and King, the triumphs of His grace

From Matthew 9:27-31 – Two Blind Men / Some believed because they saw His works. These, as blind, could only hear of His works. And yet, for them, that was enough. They believed having only heard. And so according to even that faith, a very slight, but still relying faith – they were healed. Note that v. 27 says they were following Him. They could only hear, and yet they followed.

Oh that just hearing would always be enough for me.

When Thomas finally confessed Jesus as his Lord and God, Jesus said to him – Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29)

It is not great faith that is needed. It is faith in a great Christ that is needed.

Now note here again how it is faith works. Jesus says “according to your faith be it done to you.” Now if they had faith (the way we tend to think of it) then why weren’t they healed before Jesus touched them? It is because faith is not an independent power we can wield.

As we’ve already noted several times before, what faith does is bring us to Christ – to trust Him. It doesn’t operate on its own as some sort of cosmic force we can use at will.

Their faith brought them to seek out Christ to meet their need. This is what faith always does – it insists on finding Christ. And in finding Him, we will find the fullness of what we need. Faith, as faith, didn’t heal them. Jesus did. Faith, as faith, won’t save us. Jesus must. Faith leads us to put our trust in Him. Faith believes Him – who and what He is and what He can do. And He responds.

Note too how it is that a cry for mercy is a cry that denotes no sense of deserving or right. It looks to the benefactor to act only according to their own largess. And it is this recognition for mercy which is so essential to our right understanding of salvation. Jesus owes us nothing. We deserve only wrath. But recognizing He has both the power and the prerogative to show mercy, we appeal to Him only on that basis. And He is ever faithful to respond in kind.

What a great Savior He is!

From Matthew 9:18-26 – Part 2 / Prayer of Faith – As noted before, Matthew arranges this small section so that the account of the woman with the issue of blood, and that of raising the Ruler’s daughter form the dead are interwoven. Matthew’s account is briefer than both Mark’s and Luke’s, but all tell us much about faith.

Note first then in Matthew’s brevity how he carefully he removes any foundation for any sort of magical notion that Jesus’ garment was the means by which she was healed. There is nothing here that could carry over into a theology of holy relics or objects. The woman was healed, when Jesus pronounced it so in vs. 22. “Take heart daughter; your faith has made you well. And instantly the woman was made well.” His robe wasn’t the means. Nor was it faith in the abstract. It was faith in Him. Otherwise, seeking Him out would have been superfluous. If faith can do something on its own, she didn’t need to go to Him. But faith, genuine faith, always brings us to Christ – to set our hopes on Him.

Like the woman, this man’s faith did not come about in a vacuum.

The other Gospels tell us his name was Jairus, his daughter was only about 12 years old, and that he was a ruler – a man of standing and influence in the local synagogue. Remember, all of these things are taking place in Jesus’ home town of Capernaum. Jairus would have been present when Jesus attended, taught and healed in that synagogue. He had already delivered a demonized man in that very same synagogue, and taught there many times. Jairus’ faith was predicated upon the works and words of Christ already. And once again, he did not just have some form of un-directed, generic belief. He came to Jesus. Faith always leads to Christ, not to just have faith in faith.

Note then how even when Jairus’ says his daughter was already dead, he still believed Jesus was able even to reverse death itself. Genuine faith in Christ assumes that nothing is impossible to Him. Jairus is convinced that if Jesus acted, even his dead daughter would live.

Note how Jesus responded. No hesitation, no discussion – He just rises to go. And how we must trust Him to act with the same alacrity every time we as His redeemed ones pray. We may not always have the answer we seek in the manner we seek it. His wisdom and love may override our concept of what ought to be done – as it did with the raising of Lazarus. But we must never doubt that our earnest pleas are met with an immediate response. When you cry out Believer, Christ Jesus rises.

The short delay in stopping to deal with the woman with the issue of blood must have seemed excruciating and unnecessary to Jairus. He may well meet the needs of others on the way to meet ours, but we need not worry. His grace is sufficient for all.

Note lastly how undaunted Jesus is by the great unbelief and even scorn of others. So the unbelievers laughed at Him? So what? His grace is not dependent on others. Though all the world reject and scorn Him, He cannot be stopped. Though Heaven and earth pass away, His Word will never pass away. Our confidence in Him ought to be entirely unshaken by the way we hear unbelievers ridicule, laugh, scorn or otherwise reject Him. Jesus Christ is Lord. Of all. And we can trust with all, in all. Praise His name forever!

From Matthew 9:18-26 – Part 1 / Prayer of Faith – Matthew arranges his material here so as to keep the two events – that of the woman with an issue of blood and the Ruler’s daughter – in one pericope. I’m not sure why, but that both examples (and the one which follows these with the two blind men) all point to knowing our need, knowing only Jesus can meet it, and that in all three cases – all was hopeless apart from Him. And so it is with out lost condition before salvation, and our constant need of Him after saving faith. Sin is incurable. But for Christ.

Her faith did not do what it did in a vacuum, as though faith had power in itself. What her faith did was bring her to Christ, and to trust that HE could work. Faith does nothing on its own. Faith is neither a “work”, nor a generic cosmic force we can somehow tap into for our own uses, it is looking to Christ.

“Just believe” is the mantra of the mere supernaturalist, of the undefined mystic. It is not the faith of the Bible. Biblical faith always has as its object God Himself. Trusting Him, not just trusting – who knows what?

So note the nature of her faith. She did not imagine she needed Him to stand and make pronouncements, move mountains, still seas, rebuke storms or demons – she knew all she needed was the slightest touch. That grace and mercy are so grand, so expansive, that the slightest true touch – even of just His garment, will transform in the most unspeakably glorious and powerful way.

J. C. Ryle writes here: “what encouragement our Lord gives to the humblest faith. We read in this passage, that a woman sorely afflicted with disease, came behind our Lord in the crowd, and “touched the hem” of His garment, in the hope that by so doing she should be healed. She said not a word to obtain help. She made no public confession of faith. But she had confidence, that if she could only “touch His garment,” she would be made well. And so it was. There lay hid in that act of her’s a seed of precious faith, which obtained our Lord’s commendation. She was made whole at once, and returned home in peace. To use the words of a good old writer, “She came trembling, and went back triumphing.” _{Ryle, J. C. Expository Thoughts on Matthew. Robert Carter & Brothers, 1860, pp. 88–89.}

But note too what an example of prevailing prayer he have here. What you and I need every day, is the sense of our need being great enough, that we will press through the mob of all that claims our attention and seems to make Him distant, to but touch the hem of His robe. The “prayer of faith” in James 5:15 is not some special, secret species of prayer – it is as these demonstrate – trustingly seeking out Christ.

Christian, let me ask you, do you feel any sense of the NEED for Him today? If not, you probably will know little of meeting Him today.

And un-Believer, until you know the deep need of your soul, that only Christ can reconcile you back to God the Father through faith in His atoning sacrifice on Calvary – until you know you are truly lost and condemned apart from you – you will know nothing of Him or His power.

This dear lady was undaunted by the raucous crowd. Unfazed by the fact that Jesus was on His way to do something else for someone else. Undeterred by her own low and unclean status. Unwilling to be kept from reaching Him – if only to brush the hem of His robe. Her great object was to get to Jesus. This is what prevailing prayer is. When we know He alone can meet our need, when we have recognized that our greatest need is Jesus Himself, when we realize wholeness is found only in Him – and we pursue Him relentlessly – this is prevailing prayer. He loves to be sought out.

Lord Jesus, let me come to you – today! Fill me with a relentless, seeking heart after you. And let me be satisfied with nothing else than knowing I have touched you.

This is the place of prayer. Press through. Touch His hem.

From Matthew 9:14-17 – Reckoning with the New Covenant. Two things stand out in this encounter, which at first glance do not seem connected. But they are.

In the first instance, this question of fasting is posed to Jesus. John’s disciples and the Pharisees practiced regular fasting as a spiritual exercise. It is interesting to note however, that while God instituted a number of feasts for the Israelites, He commanded only 1 fast – on the Day of Atonement. Fasting always includes some element of mourning in it. To ignore this element leads to a superstitious use of fasting to somehow bend the arm of God against His will.

Because of this element of mourning, while Jesus was among them as God incarnate, the time of fasting and mourning was not appropriate.

Now while Jesus was here, the rest of the world hadn’t stopped. There was misery going on all around. The effects of sin had not been eradicated. But we see then that there are seasons to life – which ebb and flow but do not change the entire picture. There will be seasons of God’s outpouring, and seasons of seemingly little Spirit activity. There will be times when God’s movements are easily discerned, and times when they are more hidden from view. Times of mourning, and times of great joy. No one thing like these dominates all at all times. And so He told them that at the present, fasting was not appropriate for His disciples, but in days ahead, it would be. Serving God cannot be reduced to religious observances, no matter how pious they may seem.

Connected to this, is that Jesus begins to unpack the reality of an entirely new age dawning – the age of the New Covenant. And He introduces the idea in very instructive way. With the similes of patching old garments and putting new wine into new wineskins, He graphically communicates a most important reality.

In essence – contrast to how they were living out their religious lives under the Old Covenant (with all of the invented innovations) He in effect says: I have not come to repair an old system. I have come to make everything new. I have not come to revise Judaism but to institute its fulfillment. This is the New Covenant, not the Old one. And such a Covenant requires a New People, a regenerated people – recreated to receive the fullness of what it is Christ is bringing. They cannot accept what He is bringing in their old state – THEY need to be new as well. No one can serve Christ in the power of the old flesh.

Beloved, we are no longer under the Law of Moses, but have received new life in Christ. We worship in Spirit and in truth, not according to the letter of the Law. We are being conformed to the image of Christ by the influence of the indwelling Spirit of Christ so that we begin to love and live out holiness as naturally as God Himself. This is His goal in us. Not conformity, but transformation. To go back to the old, would be ruin.

Nowhere was this reality divinely displayed for us in greater clarity and power than on the Mount of Transfiguration. There, where Moses (representative of the Law) and Elijah (representative of the Prophets) are seen with Jesus – the voice of the Father says: “This is my beloved Son; listen to Him” He, is above all.

From Matthew 9:9-13 – Calling all sinners – It seems virtually baked into all religious thought (uninformed rightly by the Bible) that God saves good people only. It is a pervasive undergirding thought in almost all. And so it is most religion aims at making us acceptable to God by virtue of doing and being good. Living up to some imagined or codified standard somehow mitigates our sin, and weighed in these self-contrived balances, as along as we’ve done more good than not – God is OK with us. And nothing could be further from the Gospel .

In this short passage recording Matthew’s call to follow Christ, and the events immediately following with Jesus reclining with a host of that era’s religious outcasts, the Gospel is seen in its clearest relief against religiosity. Jesus came to call sinners, not those who considered themselves righteous.

Note this first then: If you will not reckon yourself a sinner, sick with that deadly disease and in need of a Savior and that all is lost apart from Him – you cannot be saved. If you know you need mercy because you know your own guilt, you are of all men most blessed – for He delights to show it. But if all you want is relief – you may just get it: But it may be all you get.

And this is what leaves the religious still dead in their trespasses and sins; they will not think of themselves as sinners in need of mercy. And such cannot be saved; because they will not be saved; because they will not admit that only mercy can save them.

Lord help us to know our sin.

Not only does false religion lead people to rely upon their own goodness, it feeds into their self-perception as good. Not as ruined. Not as guilty. Not as lost. Not as undone. Not as acceptable as they are, but as deserving salvation in some way.

Note second: That though He receives sinners, He does not justify them as they are. He does not eat with them as though all is well. By His own words, He clearly announces that they are NOT OK as is. No, they need mercy. They are guilty and need to be rescued from their guilt.

Yes, it is true Christ accepts us as we are. But He never leaves us as we are. Praise God! He has mercy on us. He deals with our sin, but does not leave us to it or justify it in any way. We need mercy. Because we are guilty. And it is only the guilty who can be and are saved.

If you would know salvation, you must know and own your guilt first. And for all who do, and look to Him as the only means to become not-guilty, justified before God, there is rescue. This, is the Gospel. This is the glory of our Christ.

From Matthew 9:1-8 / “Your sins are forgiven” – Matthew, Mark and Luke all record this event. It is not hard to discern why this is so. What can be more important than to know that Jesus has the authority to forgive sins? This is the obvious emphasis of the passage. Yes, the man leaves healed of his paralysis as well, but that is shown to be secondary. Yet, I wonder if we were in the paralyzed man’s condition, which one we would think more important in the moment?

Now there are several things to note here.

1 – Note that forgiveness of sins and physical healing are not so interconnected as to assume they must always go together. How many people did Jesus heal, who left without such a pronouncement regarding their sin? And how sad that is. Imagine, it is possible that we might be miraculously touched by the hand of God, and yet leave still dead in our trespasses and sins. Simply seeing or even personally experiencing a miracle says nothing about our reconciliation to God. And yet how many seek Christ only for what they might receive in the physical or natural?

2 – Note Jesus’ rhetorical question to the scribes? Which is easier to say, your sins are forgiven, or rise and walk? They could do neither. He could do both. And He says that He did this this way so that they might know something. That He could heal? No. That He had the authority to forgive sins. In the grand scheme of things, this is what is eternally and spiritually important. This is what He is after in communicating.

3 – Note how fixated we are on the temporal versus the eternal. I don’t know about you, but if I was that man, I would probably have thought I’d been shortchanged at first. Carried to where Jesus was by friends. Dramatically let down through the roof of Jesus’ own house. There, in front of a huge crowd, displayed in all my weakness, only to hear Him say: “Your sins are forgiven.” Did it dawn on him that moment? Would it have dawned on me, that the greater miracle, the greater need was met in His first act? I fear not. I fear that I, that we are so focused on our perceived need, that we are blind to our real and greatest need. That in our unregenerate state, we are paralyzed from following Christ, working for Him in any way. And left that way, we enter eternity only to step into judgment. Beloved, our greatest need is what He can do, HAS done regarding our sin.

4 – Note that Jesus could forgive sins, but not like the “ollie, ollie oxen free” of hide and seek. He knew full well that this power would rest solely in His own impending death on the Cross. Forgiveness isn’t a simple wave of the hand. Justice must be done. Sin must actually be atoned for. When Jesus said to the man “your sins are forgiven” – He was saying “I will die for you, taking the just wrath of God you deserve upon myself, so that you can be reconciled to God and have eternal life.” Now, His question takes on real teeth – which is easier to say?

5 – We are to carry all of our needs to Him. Every one. No matter how great or how small. But we are to do so, knowing His wisdom, power and love will first and foremost meet our greatest need. For if He can and will do that, everything else is truly secondary – as blessed as it might be. As Jesus will say in another context later (though the principle still holds) “it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire.” (Mt 18:8.) Praise God, He does the lesser often, the but the greater – for all who call upon Him in faith.

From Matthew 8:28-34 / Be Careful What You Pray For – Ryle notes that this passage is “deep and mysterious.” And we want to be careful not to build doctrine out of passages that are wholly unique, and are not meant to establish norms in the Church. That said, there are some lessons to be learned as we see the great authority of our Christ and King manifested in His commanding even the demon spirits; which must obey Him as well as the wind and waves He previously rebuked. Nothing is outside His authority.

Whatever the final disposition of these demonic entities, while they know they are already cast down and awaiting an end – it is not yet. They are obviously terrified of their final end, and they recognize Jesus as the One who will mete that judgment out in due time. Sometimes the demons respond more appropriately to Christ than we who are made in the very image of God. (James 2:19)

One wonders if upon hearing their request – and knowing what the result would be – Jesus kind of said to Himself – “OK idiots, if that’s what you want, have it.”

And one wonders how often His grace has interceded on our behalf in NOT giving us our requests when made in equal foolishness and with a lack of understanding the consequences. How gracious He is to us in His refusals. How tragic it would be if He just gave us whatever we asked for. He would be treating us, like He does the demons, rather than as sons and daughters of the Kingdom.

We have this question – why give them their request? If nothing else, then at least as an object lesson for the herders to carry back to the townspeople.

In 33, the herdsmen fled back to the town and told them what happened. And what had happened? The cost of rejecting Jesus was destruction.

The demons didn’t want Him and in pleading to be allowed to have their own way, to be granted their own desires was to be given over to their own destruction.

But did the townspeople learn? No. They plead that He might depart too. And He did so. He gave them over to their own desires too. To their own eternal destruction.

But did the townspeople learn? No. They plead that He might depart too. And He did so. He gave them over to their own desires too. To their own eternal destruction.

He could demonstrate it on the demons who had no hope of salvation. But what a tragedy for these who might have the Savior who stood before them.

Note then how great is this day of grace in which we live. What or who is more despicable and liable to judgment than the very demons of Hell? Yet the day of judgment has not yet come. Even the demons find reprieve from their immediately just due. And if they find Christ so willing to stay His hand in their case, then how much more those made in the image of God, yet still bound in their sins?

There is grace to be had. The hand of The Lord has been withheld by grace. And all who hear may come now, still. But the day will come when such hope is withdrawn. How we need to hear and respond in this extraordinary season of the Gospel. If you are reading this, it is not too late to cry “do NOT leave me alone – SAVE ME!”

From Matthew 8:23-27 / Little Faith – We must be careful readers here. The idea in this narrative isn’t that the Disciples should have had some kind of confidence in their own safety, but confidence on the basis of who and what Jesus was, and what He had come to do. He could not perish. Thus, they were safe too.

Matthew gives this account on the heels of the healing of the Centurion’s servant. He is using the connection of the 2 to show how they did not yet have the kind of faith the Centurion is commended for. Again, not faith to believe the storm could be quelled, but faith in the person and authority of Jesus. This is what they were missing. They begin to get there when we see their response in vs. 27. At last, they are asking the right question: What sort of man is this that even the winds and sea “OBEY Him?” His authority is what is being highlighted.

Additionally, without a clear understanding of the plan of God – which cannot fail, we will fail to live in the faith of knowing His plan cannot fail and so certain things must happen, and certain others cannot. In this case, had they understood His mission to die at Calvary, they would have known (and been comforted) that He could not die in the boat. But our faith cannot extend beyond what we know of God’s word, and believe accordingly.

How many times have we heard someone sound the alarm at the real decline of Christianity in some time or place, as though if something is not done by us, the Church will utterly be snuffed out of existence? If we believed His Word, His promises, His revealed plan for His Church and its end – we could respond rightly by pleading for reformation and revival, but not faithlessly as though the Church will not survive. Jesus Himself stated categorically that the Church He is building both can and will withstand even the very gates of Hell. That doesn’t mean there are not dangerous and threatening times – like the storm the Disciples were in in this passage. It does not mean some local expressions of the Church may cease. It does not mean we do not cry out “Lord save us!” in such hours. But it DOES mean we really MEAN it when we call Him Lord in that plea. That we appeal consciously to the one we know of a certainty is Lord over all. And with the assurance that His plans and purposes cannot fail.

Note too that though Jesus remarks about their little faith, He does not fail to answer because of it being little. How good He is! Yes, He can point out that it needs improvement, but little as it was (and in my case often is) He still hears, still answers and still blesses. He does not deny us because we are frail. Even the littlest faith, gets the response of omnipotence. Freely. J. C. Ryle writes: “We have great reason to thank God that Jesus, our great High-priest, is very compassionate and tenderhearted. He knows our frame. He considers our infirmities. He does not cast off His people because of defects. He pities even those whom he reproves. The prayer even of “little faith” is heard, and gets an answer.¹¹ Ryle, J. C. Expository Thoughts on Matthew. Robert Carter & Brothers, 1860, p. 80.

Amen!

From Matthew 8:18-22 / Walking in Truth – Just why it is Jesus decided to go to the other side of the Lake upon seeing the crowds isn’t clear. Perhaps He was already perceiving a hint of their wanting to promote and follow Him simply as a miracle worker or leader. When in John 6 He saw that some wanted to take Him and make Him king, He did a similar thing by immediately withdrawing. He was clear on His mission even if those around Him were not. And He would not be used for purposes other than why He came – to fulfill the Father’s redemptive plan culminating in the Cross. He would not allow Himself to be deterred. He knew and stuck to the truth about Himself and His mission.

This is a lesson that we as His redeemed need to take in well.

Do we have a Biblically informed sense of who we are and why we are here? Do we know HIs purpose for us? The mission He has assigned to us? Are we living as light and salt in the midst of this crooked generation? Are we about the business of making His glories known to the World, by both our lips and our lives? How do we contribute to the mission of the Church at large in making disciples of men in all the nations?

Not everyone preaches. Not everyone teaches. Not everyone is a gifted evangelist. But all can study to know and live in the truth. And all can find a place of service in the Church so that those with their varying gifts are supported and enabled. Each of us has a sphere of influence we can touch. We can give. We can pray. We can comfort. We can encourage. We can bless according to our resources and opportunities. We can weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice. We can take the mundane duties of life and consciously enter into them so as to offer them up as service to our King with integrity, honesty, industry and humility. We can walk in truth.

Then we see how Matthew includes two short vignettes to follow in which Jesus calls to men to face and live in the truth.

When the Scribe comes to Him, He wants the man to know just what following Jesus is NOT. Following Christ is not to be seen or sold as the pathway to gain earthly advantages. And woe to us when we present or believe the Gospel that way. We are not walking in truth, but in a wretched illusion.

In 1 Tim. 6, Paul inveighs heavily against those who imagine “that godliness is a means of gain.” Godliness with contentment IS great gain, but godliness is not a way to gain earthly advantages. And those who promote the Gospel in such a way are “people who

are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth.”

They are not walking in the truth.

Strong words indeed. And Jesus disabused this Scribe of that foolishness right out of the gate.

Christ is not the means to earthly advantages.

And lastly, we see the truth that the call to follow Christ is urgent. This is the truth.

When we have come to know something of Him and heard His call, we must act and make our decision to separate from the mere ordinariness of life to be His – now. Not down the road. Not when it is more convenient. Not when those who might disapprove are gone out of the way. Not when we have more time or better circumstances. Now.

Living in the truth requires that we reckon with the reality of Christ’s demands right now, right this hour. For not one more minute is promised to any of us. And eternity hangs in the balance.

Maybe you are one who has hesitated today. You’ve said in your hear that you’ll get “serious” about spiritual things at some point down the road. But this man was faced with the reality right before His eyes – Jesus was about to get into a boat and leave. And either he went with Him now, or he might never.

And so if that is you today, I would plead with you, make the decision. Do not hesitate. Now is the day of grace. Who knows what might befall you or the world in the next 30 minutes let alone the next 30 years. Come to Jesus now. For the truth is, you are condemned in your sins right now, and only He can redeem you from your lost condition.

Come now.