MARCH 13 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#09 “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” (Matthew 9:28)

 

MARCH 13  THE JESUS QUESTIONS

  JQ#09 

“Do you believe that I am able to do this?” 

(Matthew 9:28)

LIVING FOR JESUS  Daily Prayer    

JESUS, a new day — thanks to You — and a new opportunity to live

 as You intended — full of Mercy and Grace.

 Lord Jesus, each day as I think about Your Sacrifice for my sake I am 

overwhelmed that God “so loved the world” that He would do such a great

  thing as Sacrifice His Only Begotten Son as “The Atonement” for the sins

 of a world that thinks so much “evil” in our hearts! Lord forgive me daily

 of my transgressions and let me walk in newness of life in the 

Power and Strength of Jesus Christ.    

AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

JESUS, through the Holy Spirit, pointed out in my reading today the

 “Summary” of JQ#1-8. 

“You are the salt…and…light of the world…”

 (Matthew 5:13-14) 

gives us a realization of what our purpose is if we listen to Jesus. 

Jesus next calls His listeners to “…be perfect, just as your Father 

in heaven is perfect…” (Matthew 5:46) and Jesus tells us that we

 will attain this “perfection” only by loving the world, the whole world:

 “But I say to you, love your enemies, 

bless those who curse you,

 do good to those who hate you,

 and pray for those who 

spitefully use you and persecute you.”

 (Matthew 5:44) 

Jesus immediately says that the reward for living our lives

 as He commands is great: [that] 

“you may be sons [and daughters] 

of your Father in heaven…” 

(Matthew 5:45) 

Jesus is both instructing us how we should “Choose” to live our 

lives [“love your enemies”] and declaring the 

“Consequence of our Choice” 

[we become “heirs” to our “Father’s {kingdom} in heaven”] 

and THE HOLY SPIRT reminds us 

that these scriptures are the introduction to the

 “Law of Choice and Consequences” 

——— God’s Law in which He

 reserves the Supreme Authority 

to declare the “outcome” of the “actions” 

we “Choose” to make with our Freewill. 

Jesus teaches us that we can “choose” our action with our 

Free Will Gift from God 

but the “results” of each “action” that we 

“choose with God’s Free Will Gift”,

 we must “accept God’s predetermined Consequence for the action” 

that we have just “Chosen” to do ——— for God has established 

the “DIVINE Laws” by which all of creation must abide by! 

Jesus follows the command to “Love” with instructions how to “pray”

 [see Matthew 6:9-13]. 

In succession Jesus has Taught that for us to be the “light of the world” 

(which was God’s original solution to darkness [see Genesis 1-5 key verse:

 Genesis 1:3] that we will need to be “perfect” like the Father and “love”

 like the Father and to be successful in being like God we must

 “pray” to “Our Father in heaven” 

(Matthew 6:9). 

Jesus continues His “Questions/Lessons” with instructions 

“not to worry” (Matthew 6:25) 

and throws into the Lesson that the focal point of our success will be when we 

“seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness…”

 (Matthew 6:33).

 Jesus adds a companion to “do not worry” with “do not judge” 

(Matthew 7:1). 

It is interesting to note that Jesus says the “Consequence” of our “Choice”

 to “Worry” is completely futile and will gain us nothing because we have 

no “power” to change anything that we worry about because God has it

 already figured out (Matthew 6:32) but the “Consequence” of our “judging”

 will be measured out to us as we measure out judgement to others! 

(Matthew 7:2) 

Jesus continues by assuring us that our Good Father will treat us as

 sons and daughters and to trust that our 

“Father who is in heaven [will] give good things

 to those who ask Him!” 

(Matthew 7:11). 

Jesus adds that we will be known not by our words but by our actions:

 “Therefore by their fruits you will know them.” 

(Matthew 7:20) 

The key to bearing good fruit is to plant ourselves in God and to build our

 “foundation of Faith in God” on the “solid rock” (Matthew 7:23), 

for the Son was sent to reveal the Father to us. Jesus demonstrates 

His Power given to Him by the Father by not only healing the “physical” 

problems such as the woman with a flow of blood which Jesus made well

 as soon as she touched the hem of His garment and Jesus said,

 

“Be of good cheer, daughter, your faith has made you well” 

(Matthew 9:20-22) 

and this “Divine Power” was further demonstrated when a young girl

 was raised from the dead as Jesus responded to a request from her father, 

“But when the crowd was put outside, [Jesus] went in 

and took her by the hand, and the [dead] girl arose.” 

(Matthew 9:25)

 Jesus also healed “spiritual” problems and showed He has 

power over creation when He calmed the

 “winds and the waves” (Matthew 8:26) and encourages us to 

“believe that [Jesus] is able to do [these things]” 

(Matthew 9:28). 

Jesus concludes the introduction (JQ#1-8) by telling us that He is recruiting

 “laborers” to send “into the Father’s harvest.” 

(Matthew 9:38). 

Are you ready to learn “how” to labor 

in the “Father’s Harvest”?

MARCH 12 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#09 “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” (Matthew 9:28)

 

MARCH 12  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  

JQ#09 

“Do you believe that I am able to do this?” 

(Matthew 9:28)

LIVING FOR JESUS  Daily Prayer MARCH 12   

JESUS, You Lord are to be Greatly Praised, You alone are Worthy of this

 Great Praise from all mankind! You gave Your Perfect Life so that an 

imperfect world could be justified before the Father who is Faithful and Just,

 full of Mercy and Grace. Lord Jesus, there is no explaining why God 

would become flesh and offer Himself 

as an acceptable atonement of the world’s transgressions against 

that same Holy Merciful God?!?!? 

Lord Jesus, no explanation is needed, let us instead of questioning 

“Why” or “How” it is possible that God would Sacrifice Himself,

 I pray that we will Trust God 

and step out in “Faith” and accept the “Gift” of Grace 

and praise You for Your Mercy! 

Forgive me this day of my iniquities and 

guide me in Your Path of Righteousness.    

AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

JESUS has asked 8 previous Questions that point us to discipleship and 

at the close of JQ#08 Jesus asked a “Summary Question” when He 

stated to the Pharisees that had questioned Him “Why?” (as they saw 

that Jesus was “eating with tax collectors and sinners”) would Jesus

 associate with “sinners” which the Pharisees saw as going against

 their “religious traditions” — 

but Jesus explained His motive to them when He stated:

 

“I did not come to call the righteous,

 but sinners, to repentance” 

(Matthew 9:11-13) 

Jesus was then approached by some of “the disciples of John” who

 asked Jesus, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, 

but Your disciples do not fast?” (Matthew 9:14) 

Jesus answered that question about the “traditions” that were practiced by

 the Jews of that time with a Teaching Question of His own when He

 asked the disciples of John and the Pharisees that were listening, 

“And Jesus said to them, ‘Can the friends of the bridegroom

 mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them?’” 

(Matthew 9:15)

 In order to fully understand what Jesus is Teaching with this summary

 Question we must keep in mind that Jesus had just been questioned 

by the Pharisees as to His conduct with “sinners” and then the Pharisees 

and the disciples of John the Baptist questioned Jesus on the Jewish 

“tradition” of “fasting” — and it was in this context of the “traditionalist” 

and “legalist” questioning of Jesus as to His conduct with 

“tax collectors and sinners” that Jesus introduces a new concept 

with His rebuttal Question (which at first glance looks like He is avoiding

 the question on “traditionalism and legalism” by changing the subject 

but in reality His rebuttal Question is a

 new “Revelation” of God’s Master Plan). 

However, as Jesus asks this seemingly off the wall Question about

 “friends of the bridegroom”, if you take into consideration the

 context of the Questions Jesus has asked so far and what miraculous

 things He has been doing in the Name of “our Father in heaven”,

 the Question Jesus poses about “friends of the bridegroom” is both

 right on time for His earthly mission and is a foreshadowing of future

 events in God’s Master Plan of Salvation. 

The JESUS Questions that have been asked so far and the context 

surrounding each question JQ#1-8 (Matthew 5:1 through Matthew 9:13) 

has introduced us to the “Divine Work of Jesus” 

and to being a “Follower of Jesus” — 

In His Divine Teachings Jesus has established that 

the “Truth of God” should be “lived” in our lives, 

that we are to first “learn” the “Truth of God” 

then we are to “Live the Truth of God” 

and then share the “Light of God’s Truth” with others. 

These Lessons are single in nature and built around simple Questions

 designed to cause us to see the simple Truth of God which in turn should

 cause us to

 simply live a Godly and righteous life as we apply 

the Lessons Jesus Teaches us about our day-to-day world. 

The method Jesus has been using to teach us

 THE TRUTH OF GOD 

is to ask a Question that can easily be answered by observation and 

common sense and the expectation is that we will acknowledge

 the obvious “Truth of God” contained within our answers. 

Jesus asks a series of Questions that appear individual in nature but 

are building

 “precept upon precept” 

the “Truth of God” 

so that with each Lesson we gain another 

glimpse of the “Almighty”. 

In this study so far, all the JESUS Questions and their context have been

 in a “logical sequence” and have established 

“Godly Principals” 

such as the

 “Law of Choice and Consequence” 

and the “Fundamentals of Faith” 

and then in Matthew 9:15 Jesus introduces a new concept which 

caught me off guard and caused me to study His Word a little deeper,

 which could well be the Lesson —

 “There is always more to learn in God’s Word!” 

JQ#08b is “Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn

 as long as the bridegroom  is with them?” 

(Matthew 9:15) 

which introduces us to the concept of Jesus being a “bridegroom”

 suggesting an upcoming “marriage” and Jesus calls those following Him

 “friends of the bridegroom” which suggests an

 intimate relationship with the bridegroom 

and certainly all the “friends of the bridegroom” 

will be expected to attend the wedding ceremony. 

Jesus also introduces the fact that 

“the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away” 

which foreshadows His leaving sometime in the future. 

Jesus immediately moves to two examples that illustrate that 

His intent is not in “repairing” our sin nature/sickness but 

He has come to completely make us “new” 

as He uses the illustration of “unshrunk cloth on an old garment” 

and putting “new wine into new wineskins” 

(Matthew 9:16-17). 

This “new” concept combined with the two miracles of healing in

 Matthew 9:18-29 and the healing of two blind men and a demonic

 strategically points to a “summary” of JQ#1-8 as the 

“Introduction to Discipleship” and the responsibilities of 

being a follower of Jesus and building the

 “foundation of Faith in God” on the “solid rock” — 

JQ#09 is then asked by Jesus as the 

“final exam” of “Introductory Discipleship”

 as Jesus asks 

“Do you believe that I am able to do this?” 

(Matthew 9:28)

  Jesus points us to the “correct answer” 

with His Summary Question JQ#08b

 where he introduces the concept of His disciples being

 “friends of the bridegroom” 

as the key to understanding Lessons JQ#1-8.  

We have so far read of the miraculous Work Jesus has done in the 

Name of God whom Jesus has proclaimed as “our Father in heaven” 

so we too must answer this

 “Final Exam Question on Introductory Discipleship” 

about what we have learned about Jesus so far:  

JQ#09  “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” 

(Matthew 9:28) 

and immediately Jesus assures and encourages us with this great 

“Truth of God”  

“According to your faith 

let it be to you.” 

(Matthew 9:29)