Following Jesus Through MatthewSample

Matthew’s purpose for writing his gospel was to prove that Jesus is the promised Messiah. Jesus is the King of kings, and every king has a kingdom. Here, Matthew recorded some words Jesus spoke about the kingdom of heaven. Jesus used parables, and here he tells us why: those who belong to the kingdom of God will understand them.

This first parable of the kingdom is key to understanding the rest. Do you feel like the words of Jesus are sometimes hard to understand? As believers, we have the Holy Spirit living inside of us, and if we ask for direction and clarity he will give it. He wants us to understand!

Understanding comes down to what we do with what Jesus says. Notice the four kinds of people. To hear but not understand is to allow the Devil to come in and steal away the words we’ve read or heard. By participating in this Bible reading plan, you are already working to understand so that the Devil can’t snatch it away!

To hear the word of God but not allow it to take root in your life will make it difficult to withstand hard times. To hear the word of God but allow the worries of this world to choke it out will create a Christian who feels ineffective and weak in their faith. But the person who hears the word and understands it – and obeys it – will be fruitful, and their faith will be strong.

God plants the seed of his word and waters it. With study, prayer, and obedience, we can have a life that pleases God, and we can help introduce others to God and together fully follow him.

Prayer: God, thank you for your word. It tells me who you are and how much you love me. Help me to understand and to obey your word so that I can help others in their walk of faith in Jesus Christ. Amen.