Matthew the apostle wrote how Jesus' disciples wondered why they could not cast the “demon” out of the epileptic son of the man who came to them, “And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say unto this mountain, Remove from here to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Howbeit this kind goes not out but by prayer and fasting. And while they abode in Galilee, Jesus said unto them, The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men”, and in chapter seventeen and verse twenty-three of his book, Matthew shares how Jesus told His disciples that men, “shall kill him, and the third day he shall be raised again” where we read:
And they shall kill him, and the third day he shall be raised again. And they were exceeding sorry.
The verse reads, “And they shall kill him, and the third day he shall be raised again.”. Matthew began with the words, “and they shall kill” or “and the men to whom Jesus is delivered will inflict mortal death upon and abolish” “him” which refers to “Jesus”, “and the third day” or “and the third day after Jesus dies” “he shall be raised again” which means “Jesus will be resurrected and arisen from the dead and brought back to life again”. Matthew shared how Jesus told His disciples how the men to whom He is “betrayed” will take His life, however, three days after they do, He will rise again from the grave.
The verse goes on to say, “And they were exceeding sorry.” Matthew continued with the words, “and they” or “Jesus' disciples” “were exceeding sorry” which means “were greatly and vehemently affected with sadness, caused grief and offended”. Matthew shared how Jesus' disciples were “vehemently sad” when they heard Jesus' words.
When we meditate upon Matthew's words in this verse, we discover Jesus' prophesy concerning His own life. The Almighty and Powerful God of the Universe knew in advance what “men” would do to Him after they took Him captive, and although they would “kill” Him, Jesus would rise from the grave and return to life again. Some may wonder, why would He do this? The answer is that He loves people so much that He was willing to submit Himself to the penalty for “sin” for the whole world to have them be in a relationship with Him. Jesus died for people, and those who submit their lives to Jesus Christ as their “Savior and Lord” shall not only have their “sins” forgiven but are promised “everlasting life”.
Next time Matthew shares how “they that received tribute money” ask Peter, “does not your master pay tribute?”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book
“Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the
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Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms
Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County"
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www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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