HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 1241
M ATTHEW 11
page 871
you looking for a prophet? Yes, and he is more
than a prophet. 10 John is the man to whom the
Scriptures refer when they say,
‘Look, I am sending my messenger ahead
of you,
and he will prepare your way before you.’*
11 “I tell you the truth, of all who have ever
lived, none is greater than John the Baptist. Yet
even the least person in the Kingdom of Heaven
is greater than he is! 12 And from the time John
the Baptist began preaching until now, the Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing,*
and violent people are attacking it. 13 For before
John came, all the prophets and the law of Moses
looked forward to this present time. 14 And if you
are willing to accept what I say, he is Elijah, the
one the prophets said would come.* 15 Anyone
with ears to hear should listen and understand!
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.’
18 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.”
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, Korazin 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 Sodom, 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
11:10 Mal 3:1. 11:12 Or the Kingdom of Heaven has suffered
from violence. 11:14 See Mal 4:5. 11:19 “Son of Man” is a
title Jesus used for himself. 11:23 Greek to Hades.
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
• Self-Esteem
M ATTHE W 10:29-31
Low self-esteem is one of the psychological diseases of our modern culture.
Our consumer society markets beauty,
youth, and material success so pervasively that we are constantly bombarded
with images of people we see as better
than ourselves. And the effect is only
amplified on social media, where people
tend to display all the positive things
about their lives while leaving out the
negatives. As a result, it’s very difficult
to escape our tendency to compare
ourselves with the perfect body, family,
job, or intelligence of another—and
this leads us to feel inadequate. Jesus
encourages us to locate the proper
source of self-esteem. Our lives are of
infinite worth, not because we have the
looks of a model or the mind of a Nobel
Prize winner, but because we are created and loved personally by the eternal
God of all heaven and earth. When our
self-esteem is grounded not in ourselves
but in our creator, we are free from a
destructive overemphasis on self. On
what do you depend for your feelings
of worth?
• Stress
M ATTHE W 11:28-30
One of the greatest problems of our culture is busyness. It undoubtedly contributes to everything from heart disease to
poor nutrition to alienation within families.
Sometimes we even pursue our spiritual
lives at an unhealthy, breakneck speed.
Although committed involvement in the
ministries of the local church is good,
Jesus reminds us here that he wants to
give us not more busyness and stress but
rest for our weary souls. Are you allowing
your religious activities to rob you of the
peace and rest Jesus intends?