NO MIDDLE GROUND

Tomorrow, Wednesday, February 25, at 7:00 p.m., join your Calvary Chapel family for coffee at 6:00 p.m., followed by the service at 7:00 p.m. in the Holy Ground Café or online through our website (www.calvaryinv.com

), Facebook, and YouTube (Calvary Inverness), as we continue our journey through the New Testament in the Gospel of Matthew (12:22-13:58).

Jesus had just delivered a man from a demon that had made him blind and mute, and he was accused of being in league with Satan. This was the third time He had been charged (12:24), and unlike the other two (9:34; 10:25), He responded.

The Pharisees, who had consistently attempted to badger, stumble, provoke, and stop the Son of God, found themselves in a predicament that would further enrage them. The reason? It wasn’t from Jesus striking out in uncontrollable anger. Instead, in His typical manner of gentleness and kindness, He showed the impracticability of their line of thinking.

He went through a series of questions that, if they had been willing to consider and answer, would have opened their eyes to the reality that He was the One who fulfilled a promise that God had made to King David (2 Samuel 7:12-14).

By doing so, He revealed the darkness of their hearts and pulled back the curtain for all to see how they had been leading the nation, whom God had called them to shepherd, in a direction that would lead them to their eternal demise. Jesus didn’t do this to humiliate them, but in an attempt to save them.

Therefore, Jesus, who didn’t want any of them to perish (2 Peter 3:9), warned that if they continued in their unbelief and accusation that He was in league with Satan, they would cross a line that they would not be able to return (12:31-32).

This is true for anyone presented with the claims of Jesus Christ. When irrefutable evidence is presented regarding His person and purpose, one must decide whether to believe or not, for there is no such thing as not making a decision. Because Jesus said, “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad” (12:30).

Next, Jesus returned to Peter’s house to minister to those who had come to hear Him. As He was teaching, He was told His mother and brothers were waiting to see Him. Also, those from Nazareth had come, thinking He was out of His mind.

His response was beyond anything anyone had said before. Mark wrote, “He answered and said to the one who told Him, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, ‘Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother” (Mt. 12:48-50).

Afterward, He left the house and began speaking to the vast multitudes following Him in parables. So, what is a parable?

A parable is a story from everyday life that points to or illustrates a spiritual truth. Their purpose? They are told to provide understanding to those who seek a relationship with Jesus and, at the same time, to hide the truth from those who have hardened their hearts.

The first parable is about a sower, seed, and the soil. The sower is unnamed, but later in the chapter, in another parable, Jesus told them He was the sower (13:37). The seed is the inerrant, infallible, imitable, inspired word of God. The four soils represent the condition of people’s hearts.

Jesus told the listeners that those who hear the gospel are those whose hearts are either hardened, shallow, crowded, or receptive. And the condition of one’s heart determines whether or not you ever come into the kingdom of God.

In the following three parables (13:24-33), Jesus described the hostile and deteriorating conditions that His followers will endure as they proclaim the gospel, first to their families and then everywhere He sends them.

When the disciples followed Jesus back into the house where He was residing, they asked Him the meaning of the parable of the wheat and tares (13:24-30). He gladly sat with them and patiently stated their meaning (13:36-43).

Jesus’ motive in explaining the parables to His followers was multi-faceted. First, parables are easy to remember, as they are simple stories from everyday life with a single point.

Second, parables can bridge the Old and New Testaments, as they are prophesied in the Old and fulfilled in Jesus’ ministry in the New.

Third, they are a clarion call to His followers to be

alert and aware of Satan’s tactics to resist the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives.

Fourth, parables equip His followers to share and defend the gospel and conduct the good fight of faith in their war against the flesh, world, and satan.

I’m excited to continue this journey with you through the twenty-seven books of the New Testament, trusting that none of us will remain the same as we grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Please pray for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the entire Calvary Chapel family.

In His Strong Love,

Pastor