Matthew 12: The Lord and His Family (7)
Pray Psalm 110.3, 4.
Your people shall be volunteers
In the day of Your power;
In the beauties of holiness, from the womb of the morning,
You have the dew of Your youth.
The LORD has sworn
And will not relent,
“You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek.”
Sing Psalm 110.3, 4.
Aurelia: The Church’s One Foundation
Your people in Your power, arrayed in holiness,
like dew of morning’s hour shall serve like youth refreshed.
The LORD has sworn and never will He His promise check:
“You are a priest forever after Melchizedek.”
Read and meditate on Matthew 12.1-50.
Meditate on the ways Jesus expressed His Lordship.
Prepare.
1. How does Jesus show Himself to be Lord in this chapter?
2. Who are members of the Lord’s family?
Meditate.
In chapter 12 Jesus solidified His claim to Lordship, first by asserting that He is Lord of the Sabbath. The reasoning is clear: He gave the fourth commandment, so He should know best how to interpret it.
He further asserted His Lordship by explaining His power to cast out demons as the natural consequence of His having bound Satan (Matt. 4.1-11). Now He was plundering all that the devil had ruled over for so long, wherever sin and its effects were found.
As Lord, He sets the terms of forgiveness and justification. No forgiveness is available to those who deny the witness of the Spirit; similarly, those whose lives produce no good works should not expect to be justified before the Lord.
Jesus is the King greater than Solomon, and He promised to demonstrate that greatness by rising from the dead. For He is Lord of the Sabbath, Lord over demons and the devil, Lord of forgiveness, and Lord over death and the grave.
The true followers of Jesus will fill their souls with Him—hearing and doing His Word, and thus showing themselves to be true members of His household.
Chapter 12 is thus an apt prelude to chapter 13, in which, in a series of breath-taking parables, Jesus will set forth the nature and character of the Kingdom He came to bring near.
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
“Behold! My Servant Whom I uphold,
My Elect One in Whom My soul delights!
I have put My Spirit upon Him;
He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles” (Is. 42.1).
“Do not be afraid, for behold,
I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.
For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior,
Who is Christ the Lord” (Lk. 2.10, 11).
“In every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him.
The word which God sent to the children of Israel,
preaching peace through Jesus Christ—
He is Lord of all—that word you know,
which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, and
began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached:
how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth
with the Holy Spirit and with power,
Who went about doing good and healing all
who were oppressed by the devil,
for God was with Him” (Acts 10.35-38).
“Therefore God also has highly exalted Him
and given Him the Name which is above every name,
that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow,
of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,
and that every tongue should confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2.9-11).
“The true followers of Jesus will fill their souls with Him—
hearing and doing His Word, and
thus showing themselves to be true members of His household.”
“With my whole heart I have sought You; oh, let me not wander from Your commandments” (Ps. 119.10).
“To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice” (Prov. 21.3).
“If you love Me, keep My commandments” (Jn. 14.15).
He is LORD—and LORD of all.
Reflect.
1. Jesus is Lord of your life. How do you acknowledge that?
2. He is Lord of your Personal Mission Field. What is your role in realizing that?
3. What should your daily worship of Jesus the Lord look like?
It was nothing strange for Christ to be more than Jonah and to be more than Solomon, for He is the Lord and they are the servants. But who are those who looked askance at the presence of the Lord, whereas foreigners listened to His servants? Augustine (354-430), Sermon 72A.1
Pray Psalm 110.1-3, 5-7.
How will Jesus manifest His Lordship in your life today? How must you prepare for that to be the case?
Sing Psalm 110.1-3, 5-7.
Aurelia: The Church’s One Foundation
“Sit by Me at My right hand,” the LORD says to my Lord,
“until I make Your foot stand on all who hate Your Word.”
The LORD sends strength from Zion: “Rule all Your enemies.”
While those who know His favor go forth their LORD to please.
The Lord is at Your right hand to execute His wrath,
and judge all kings and all lands—doomed sinners in His path.
Then, all His foes defeated, He takes His hard-won rest,
in glorious triumph seated with us, redeemed and blessed!
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment to give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
We invite you to join us in ReThinking Church. We explain further at our ReThinking Church page, here.
Other columns of interest: This week: The Read Moore podcast continues readings from our book, The Kingdom Turn. Our Crosfigell teaching letter presses ahead in a series on the state of the Church in Europe at the time of the Celtic Revival. The ReVision column begins to examine the hope for the church, especially struggling churches. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
