Life Recovery Bible - Flipbook - Page 28
Page 1214 / M atthew 1 2
with ears to hear should listen and under
stand!
16
“To what can I compare this generation?
It is like children playing a game in the public square. They complain to their friends,
17
‘We played wedding songs,
and you didn’t dance,
so we played funeral songs,
and you didn’t mourn.’
For John didn’t spend his time eating and
drinking, and you say, ‘He’s possessed by a
demon.’ 19 The Son of Man,* on the other
hand, feasts and drinks, and you say, ‘He’s a
glutton and a drunkard, and a friend of tax
collectors and other sinners!’ But wisdom is
shown to be right by its results.”
18
Judgment for the Unbelievers
20
Then Jesus began to denounce the towns
where he had done so many of his miracles,
because they hadn’t repented of their sins and
turned to God. 21 “What sorrow awaits you, Ko
razin and Bethsaida! For if the miracles I did in
you had been done in wicked Tyre and Sidon,
their people would have repented of their sins
long ago, clothing themselves in burlap and
throwing ashes on their heads to show their
remorse. 22 I tell you, Tyre and Sidon will be
better off on judgment day than you.
23
“And you people of Capernaum, will you
be honored in heaven? No, you will go down
to the place of the dead.* For if the miracles
I did for you had been done in wicked Sod
om, it would still be here today. 24 I tell you,
even Sodom will be better off on judgment
day than you.”
Jesus’ Prayer of Thanksgiving
25
At that time Jesus prayed this prayer: “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you
for hiding these things from those who think
themselves wise and clever, and for revealing
them to the childlike. 26 Yes, Father, it pleased
you to do it this way!
27
“My Father has entrusted everything to
me. No one truly knows the Son except the
Father, and no one truly knows the Father
except the Son and those to whom the Son
chooses to reveal him.”
28
Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you
who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and
I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you.
Let me teach you, because I am humble and
gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your
souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the
burden I give you is light.”
CHAPTER 12
A Discussion about the Sabbath
At about that time Jesus was walking through
some grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, so they began breaking
off some heads of grain and eating them.
2
But some Pharisees saw them do it and protested, “Look, your disciples are breaking the
law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath.”
3
Jesus said to them, “Haven’t you read in
the Scriptures what David did when he and
his companions were hungry? 4 He went
into the house of God, and he and his companions broke the law by eating the sacred
loaves of bread that only the priests are allowed to eat. 5 And haven’t you read in the
law of Moses that the priests on duty in the
Temple may work on the Sabbath? 6 I tell you,
there is one here who is even greater than
the Temple! 7 But you would not have condemned my innocent disciples if you knew
the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you
to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’* 8 For the
Son of Man* is Lord, even over the Sabbath!”
11:19 “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for himself. 11:23 Greek to Hades.
12:7 Hos 6:6 (Greek version). 12:8 “Son
of Man” is a title Jesus used for himself.
11:16-19 When we are in denial, we tend to resist those who challenge our comfort zones. We
find excuses not to accept the good advice of others no matter what they do or say. We become
cynical and try to justify our inconsistencies. The message of recovery is too joyful and hopeful for
some, or it is too realistic and direct for others. Recovery is too structured for those of us who are
used to doing our own thing; it is too liberating for those of us from a legalistic background. But
such perspectives are only blind excuses that keep us from facing our need for recovery.
12:1-8 God’s standards were intended for our good—to mercifully meet his people’s needs. But
legalism abuses his laws. Following God’s laws to the letter can easily violate the very reasons that
God gave them in the first place. God gave the Sabbath laws to protect his people from overwork,
but the Pharisees applied this law so rigidly that the Sabbath became a day of rigorous self-denial—
the opposite of what God intended. The Pharisees employed God’s Word for restrictive and enslaving purposes rather than for spiritual freedom and balance. In his mercy, God offers us recovery
and hope instead of condemnation. If God had wanted to crush us with legalism, he would never
have sent Jesus to die for us. He would have let us die in our sins.
