John T. Willis

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

The Biblical Teaching of Disciples--5

Matthew 11:1-6 contains this description of Jesus's disciples:
    Now when Jesus finished INSTRUCTING HIS TWELVE DISCIPLES,
    he went on there to teach and proclaim his message in their cities.
    When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word to HIS DISCIPLES,
     and said to him, "Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?"
     Jesus answered them, "Go and tell John what you hear and see:
     the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear,
                 the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them.
     And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me."
     a. Verse 1 shows that the role of Jesus is to instruct, and the role of his disciples is to be instructed, to learn.
     b. John the Baptist also had disciples, and he sent his disciples to learn who Jesus really was. Jesus responded by telling them to pay attention to what they saw and heard when they observed the works of Jesus.

Matthew 12:1-8 relates the account of Jesus' disciples plucking heads of grain to eat in the field on the Sabbath day.
    At that time Jesus went through he grainfields on the sabbath;
    HIS DISCIPLES WERE HUNGRY, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.
    When the Pharisees saw it, they said to him,
  "Look, YOUR DISCIPLES ARE DOING WHAT IS NOT LAWFUL TO DO ON THE SABBATH."
    He said to them, "Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry?
    He entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence,
    which was not lawful for him or his companions to eat, but only for the priests.
    Or have you not read in the law that on the sabbath the priests in the temple break the sabbath
                                and yet are guiltless?
    I tell you, something greater than the temple is here.
    But if you had known what this means, "I desire mercy and not sacrifice,' you would not have
                                condemned the guiltless.
    For the Son of Man is lord of the sabbath."
    a. Just as the Pharisees found fault with Jesus, they also found fault with Jesus' disciples. This assumes that disciples are constant in contact with Jesus and follow his sayings and practices.
    b. Religious people have always been quick to watch the activities of other people in the hope of catching them in a fault or a sin. True disciples of Jesus do not go through life trying to find the sins of people around us.

Share YOUR commitments and rehearsals and common sense and understanding and work with others. Let me hear from YOU.

John Willis


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