Raca was an Aramaic term of contempt meaning stupid. But Jesus was more concerned here with the term Moros – You fool – being thrown around. Moros was actually a more serious reproach than Raca as it conveyed a person being morally worthless… a scorning of the person’s very heart and character. The Lord was warning of the dangers of character assassination…of killing the very spirit of a person with angry words.
Tag: Matthew
Matthew 9:38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field.”
Send us O Lord. We are a complacent people, giving in to our comfort and self. We are filled with excuses and justification of why we can’t obey Your Word when You say “Go!” Show us Lord the way…direct our paths for Your glory…drive us out of the four walls of the Church into Your Church – the world. Give us Your passion for the lost…Your fire for the perishing. Send us O Lord.
Matthew 18: 2-4 ” He called a little child and had him stand among them. And He said: ‘I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.’ “
This story actually started earlier as Jesus and the Disciples were traveling. An argument had ensued among the Disciples of just who was the greatest. So now Jesus was calling them out on it and extinguishing any ego that was still lingering by having a little boy stand among them as an example of how He wanted them to behave. Not as proud, honor-seeking men, but as meek, gentle, giving children.
Matthew 8:1-3 ” When He came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed Him. A man with leprosy came and knelt before Him and said, ‘ Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.’ Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man, ‘I am willing,’ He said. ‘Be clean!’ Immediately he was cured of his leprosy.”
“If You are willing.” The man had been watching Jesus heal others. His faith in the Messiah had grown with each person he saw walk away cured and whole. He had faith, but would Jesus be ready and able to heal him? Jesus went beyond what He had to do to heal this man…He could of just spoken the word and he’d been healed. But instead, Jesus stretched out His hand and touched the unclean man, and in doing so showed that he was a valued and loved human being.
Matthew 16: 22-23 ” Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. ‘Never Lord!’ he said. ‘This shall never happen to You!’ Jesus turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.’ “
Jesus had just been explaining to His disciples that He would go to Jerusalem…be killed…and then rise on the third day. But the disciples were having a difficult time putting their heads around such an event, when suddenly Peter audaciously pulled Jesus aside and said, “God forbid!” How many times do we want to set God right, but our own worldly view of divine workings is so askew that we’re bordering on blasphemy ourselves?
Matthew 11:28 ” Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
Do you find yourself burned-out and apathetic with life …”Come to Me.” He says. Do problems have you laden down and broken in spirit…”Come to Me.” He’s saying to you. The Lord is there to lift those burdens off your weakened shoulders and allow you to settle in to rest. He wants to support and sustain you through those tough times…He doesn’t want you to go it alone. The Lord is calling your name…”Come to Me.”
Matthew 24: 6 ” You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed.”
What was Jesus trying to tell us in this passage? In this broken world, Nation will rise up against Nation…hostilities and conflict will erupt more and more in the world. But the Lord also instructed us here…as you see this, be careful not to be afraid. Lift your eyes up from the carnage and devastation and look to Me, for I am the answer. Keep your eyes on Me, and you will find peace.
Matthew 15:32 ” Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, ‘ I have compassion for these people; they have already been with Me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.’ “
Along the shore of the Sea of Galilee people had brought the lame, blind, and crippled for Jesus to touch. In the midst of this healing service, Jesus was giving them spiritual food…but now the Lord was looking very practically at the needs of their physical bodies. Meeting the basic needs of a person – food, shelter, or clothing – was an essential part of the Gospel Jesus taught. No one can listen if their stomach is growling loudly and they’re shivering from cold.
Matthew 13:44 ” The Kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.”
Human beings are an inquisitive lot. We are ever searching, ever seeking, ever pursuing for what we don’t have. Whether it be physical desires or mental enlightenment…the quest is always there. But what are we really searching for in that vast “field” we call life? We trudge along, head down, turning over rocks in this field, when there’s a treasure hidden right under our nose…and it’s called Jesus. A prize so exquisite, that we’ll give up all just for the change to claim it.
Matthew 26: 39 “…Yet not as I will, but as You will.”
I had a very insightful conversation with someone concerning a life decision . What they thought they were going to do with their life was suddenly turned upside down when God very emphatically said “No!” Wisely they sought out counsel, and this was the question posed to them…Was this something you, yourself wanted to do, and you were simply asking the Lord to bless it, rather than asking God for His Will in your life and what He wanted? Not my will, but Yours should be a important part of our prayers.
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